Long-term financing of the municipal sector

The plan establishes that tax cuts have left 350 billion less per year for welfare and requires that redistribution from state to municipality and region increases, with special attention to those who cannot make ends meet. It wants incomes and costs distributed solidaristically across the country and for welfare to work everywhere. Indexed and value-secured state grants plus a guarantee model in crises respond directly to that.

• increased redistribution to municipalitiesdecisive»Omfördelningen från stat till region och kommun måste öka och särskild hänsyn ska tas till de många kommuner och regioner som idag inte får ihop sin ekonomi samtidigt som de redan har bland landets högsta skatter totalt sett.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Redistribution from state to region and municipality must increase and special attention shall be paid to the many municipalities and regions that today cannot make ends meet while already having some of the country's highest taxes in total.”
• underfunded welfare»det nu finns 350 miljarder mindre per år till välfärden än 1990« (2022 manifesto ↗)“there is now 350 billion less per year for welfare than in 1990”
• solidaristic distribution»Inkomster och kostnader behöver fördelas solidariskt över landet.« (party programme ↗)“Incomes and costs need to be distributed solidaristically across the country.”
• welfare throughout the country»Skola, vård, omsorg och annan service behöver fungera överallt.« (party programme ↗)“Schools, healthcare, care and other services need to work everywhere.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan explicitly promises to continue increasing the state's contributions to municipalities and regions and that welfare resources will increase throughout the country, which is the core of the counter-proposal's demand for an escalated and index-linked base package of state grants. The plan also demands sustainable long-term financing of welfare. The growth package for fast-growing municipalities is matched by the commitment to systems that strengthen local communities in large industrial establishments.

• increased state grantsdecisive»Vi vill fortsätta öka statens bidrag till kommuner och regioner.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to continue increasing the state's contributions to municipalities and regions.”
• more resources for welfare»Öka resurserna till välfärden i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase welfare resources throughout the country.”
• long-term welfare financing»En välfärd med långsiktig och hållbar finansiering.« (party programme ↗)“Welfare with long-term and sustainable financing.”
• support for growing municipalities»System för att stärka lokalsamhället vid stora industrietableringar.« (party programme ↗)“Systems to strengthen local communities in major industrial establishments.”

The plan establishes that municipalities cannot bear the entire economic responsibility for transition and that the state must contribute, and that the state should guarantee support to municipalities that take on major societal responsibility. Value-secured state grants, a guarantee model in crises and a growth package for rapidly growing municipalities are ways to fulfill that. The plan also requires equivalent welfare regardless of where in the country one lives.

• the state bears transition costdecisive»det ekonomiska ansvaret för en sådan omställning – staten måste bidra.« (party programme ↗)“the economic responsibility for such a transition – the state must contribute.”
• state support to municipalities»staten att garantera stöd för kommuner som redan tar ett stort samhällsansvar.« (party programme ↗)“the state to guarantee support for municipalities that already take on major societal responsibility.”
• equivalent welfare nationwide»Alla ska ha tillgång till likvärdig välfärd« (party programme ↗)“Everyone should have access to equivalent welfare”
• welfare for equality»Ett av syftena med vår gemensamt finansierade välfärd är att bidra till ökad jämlikhet.« (party programme ↗)“One purpose of our jointly financed welfare is to contribute to increased equality.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's crucial commitment is to protect and strengthen the fiscal framework and to be frugal with taxpayers' money, and to say no to short-term investments. A foundation with automatic inflation adjustment of state grants, value indexing, guarantee models and growth packages locks large spending commitments outside that order. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's requirement, even if it wants to see more money to the core of welfare.

• protect fiscal frameworkdecisive»Det finanspolitiska ramverket ska värnas och förstärkas, och Sveriges långsiktiga ekonomiska stabilitet ska försvaras. Politiken ska hushålla med skattebetalarnas pengar. Mer pengar ska läggas på välfärdens kärna, mindre på bidrag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The fiscal framework must be protected and strengthened, and Sweden's long-term economic stability must be defended. Politics must be frugal with taxpayers' money. More money should go to the core of welfare, less to benefits.”
• no to short-term investments»Ett resultatinriktat ledarskap som säger nej till kortsiktiga populistiska satsningar och istället söker långsiktiga och konstruktiva överenskommelser förankrade i mitten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Results-oriented leadership that says no to short-term populist investments and instead seeks long-term and constructive agreements anchored in the center.”
• stable public finances»Sveriges och hushållens ekonomi måste stärkas, idag och långsiktigt. Vi ska sänka det totala skattetrycket och skapa stabilitet i statsfinanserna genom att hushålla med skattebetalarnas pengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden's and households' economy must be strengthened, today and long-term. We will lower the total tax burden and create stability in public finances by being frugal with taxpayers' money.”
• order in public finances»Hushållens långsiktiga ekonomiska välmående kräver att statens finanser är i ordning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Households' long-term economic well-being requires that public finances are in order.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's answer to municipal financing is to transfer the financing responsibility for, among other things, schools and LSS to the state and that the space is created by a growing economy and more efficient resource use, not by annually indexed state grants. It also emphasises stable public finances and incentives for growth in equalisation. An automatic floor for state grants is thereby outside the plan's line.

• state financing responsibilitydecisive»Vi vill skapa mer likvärdiga villkor och skatter genom att flytta finansieringsansvaret för bland annat skolan och LSS till staten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to create more equitable conditions and taxes by transferring the financing responsibility for, among other things, schools and LSS to the state.”
• growth finances welfare»Utrymmet för fortsatta skattesänkningar skapas av en växande ekonomi och ett mer effektivt« (party programme ↗)“The space for further tax cuts is created by a growing economy and more efficient”
• stable public finances»Stabila offentliga finanser och låg statsskuld skapar utrymme för Sverige att möta kriser utan« (party programme ↗)“Stable public finances and low government debt create space for Sweden to meet crises without”
• growth incentives»Utjämningssystemet ska innehålla drivkrafter för tillväxt.« (party programme ↗)“The equalisation system shall contain incentives for growth.”

The plan requires restraint in public expenditure and that public finances are managed responsibly from a future perspective, which speaks against automatic annual increases in state grants and a guarantee model that binds up future budgets. The state's responsibility is formulated in the plan as targeted support to municipalities with insufficient tax base, not as a general indexed baseline. The counter-proposal's mechanisms therefore go beyond what the plan commits to, even though concern for welfare financing is shared.

• restrained public expendituredecisive»återhållsamhet i de offentliga utgifterna.« (party programme ↗)“restraint in public expenditure.”
• responsible public finances»ren miljö, ansvarsfullt skötta offentliga finanser och ett robust försäkringssystem måste« (party programme ↗)“clean environment, responsibly managed public finances and a robust insurance system must”
• targeted state support to weak municipalities»Det är en statlig uppgift att stödja kommuner som inte har ett tillräckligt skatteunderlag för« (party programme ↗)“It is a state task to support municipalities that do not have a sufficient tax base for”
• stable economic policy»långsiktig och stabil ekonomisk politik i samspel med en aktiv arbetsmarknadspolitik är« (party programme ↗)“long-term and stable economic policy in cooperation with active labour market policy is”

The plan values the surplus target and requires that all new promises are financed, which speaks against automatically inflation-adjusted grants and new guarantee models. It instead points to hard prioritization between justice, defence and welfare. The plan's path to stronger municipal economy goes through more people in work and combated waste, not through new commitments to indexation.

• surplus target valueddecisive»Överskottsmålet ska värnas och det är inte aktuellt att övergå till ett balansmål.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The surplus target shall be valued and it is not appropriate to move to a balanced target.”
• financed reforms»Alla nya löften och reformer – som till exempel våra inkomstskattesänkningar – behöver finansieras eller rymmas inom överskottsmålet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All new promises and reforms – such as our income tax cuts – need to be financed or fit within the surplus target.”
• prioritize hard»De stora behoven inom rättsväsendet, försvaret och välfärden ställer stora krav på prioriteringar under åren som kommer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The large needs within the judiciary, defence and welfare place great demands on prioritizations in the years to come.”
• combat public waste»Offentligt slöseri i alla former ska bekämpas.« (party programme ↗)“Public waste in all forms must be combated.”

The counter-proposal wants to index-link state subsidies to municipalities and regions and secure welfare during crises. The plan states that the municipal sector is not expected to have resources for the welfare mission in the long term and promises to redirect public funds to welfare ahead of political prestige projects, and the party programme adheres to the financing principle. However, the part about a growth package linked to the green transition lies outside the plan's priorities, which reduces the security.

• reallocation to welfaredecisive»Se över offentliga utgifter och rikta om medel till välfärden och rättsväsendet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Review public spending and redirect funds to welfare and the justice system”
• welfare before prestige projects»Satsa på välfärden istället för politiska prestigeprojekt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Invest in welfare instead of political prestige projects”
• the municipal financing principle»Den kommunala finansieringsprincipen är grundläggande för de ekonomiska« (party programme ↗)“The municipal financing principle is fundamental to the economic”
• skepticism toward transition investments»Stoppa symbolpolitik som går ut över möjligheten att bedriva industri och näring« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop symbolic politics that comes at the expense of the possibility to conduct industry and business”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.