The Prerequisites for Free Culture

The election manifesto demands that culture exists throughout the country and specifically points out public libraries and popular education as what should be invested in and developed. The counter-proposal's demands that state, regions and municipalities together create better conditions for gathering places and local popular education is the same commitment in concrete form. The party programme wants to see plenty of space for cultural creation that reaches everyone in society.

• invest in libraries and popular educationdecisive»Därför är det särskilt viktigt att satsa på och utveckla folkbiblioteken, folkbildningen och public services oberoende ställning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Therefore it is especially important to invest in and develop public libraries, popular education and public service's independent position.”
• culture throughout the country»Det är viktigt att kulturen står fri från såväl kommersiell som politisk styrning och finns i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is important that culture is free from both commercial and political control and exists throughout the country.”
• space for cultural creation»Vi vill se gott om utrymmen för kulturellt skapande, som når alla i« (party programme ↗)“We want to see plenty of space for cultural creation that reaches everyone in”
• popular education's infrastructure»Folkhögskolorna har en särskild roll i det svenska« (party programme ↗)“Folk high schools have a special role in the Swedish”

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 party programme requires that suitable premises for associations, adult education, sports and culture shall be easily accessible and that cultural institutions shall exist throughout the country, with free libraries. That the state, regions and municipalities together create better conditions for meeting places and adult education is thus directly supported. The election manifesto highlights adult education as an activity that upholds democracy.

• tillgängliga samlingslokalerdecisive»Ändamålsenliga lokaler för föreningsliv« (party programme ↗)“Suitable premises for associations”
• folkbildning stärker demokratin»Folkbildning ger stark demokrati och möjligheter till personlig utveckling vid sidan av den formella utbildningen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Adult education gives strong democracy and opportunities for personal development alongside formal education”
• kulturens infrastruktur i hela landet»Institutioner för det professionella kulturlivet ska därför finnas över hela landet« (party programme ↗)“Institutions for professional cultural life shall therefore exist throughout the country”
• avgiftsfria folkbibliotek»Biblioteken ska vara avgiftsfria« (party programme ↗)“Libraries shall be free of charge”

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 election manifesto wants to strengthen libraries and invest in cultural life throughout the country, and the party programme wants to promote strong associational life and self-organization with access to public libraries and meeting places as well as believes in public adult education. That state, regions and municipalities together create better conditions for public gathering places thus aligns with the plan.

• strengthened public librariesdecisive»stärka biblioteken i deras viktiga arbete för läsning och demokrati.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen libraries in their important work for reading and democracy.”
• associational life and meeting places»Vi vill främja ett starkt föreningsliv och självorganisering i varje stadscentrum.« (party programme ↗)“We want to promote strong associational life and self-organization in every city centre.”
• public adult education»Vi tror på folkbildningen och det livslånga lärandet.« (party programme ↗)“We believe in public adult education and lifelong learning.”
• cultural life throughout the country»satsa på en bred återhämtningsplan för kulturlivet i hela landet, som omfattar både offentliga, fria, professionella och ideella aktörer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“invest in a broad recovery plan for cultural life throughout the country, which includes both public, free, professional and non-profit actors.”

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 makes culture throughout the country a starting point and attaches great importance to independent folk education and civil society's voluntary organization. That the state, regions and municipalities together create better conditions for meeting halls, libraries and local folk education is precisely about financing civil society's infrastructure. The plan therefore supports the requirement.

• culture throughout the countrydecisive»Att tillhandahålla kultur i hela landet är en viktig utgångspunkt för Centerpartiet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Providing culture throughout the country is an important starting point for the Centre Party.”
• importance of folk education»En fristående folkbildning har mycket stor betydelse i tider då demokratiska värden ifrågasätts.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Independent folk education is of great importance in times when democratic values are questioned.”
• finance civil society infrastructure»Politiken kan stödja civilsamhället genom att involvera det i fler processer, finansiera dess infrastruktur« (party programme ↗)“Policy can support civil society by involving it in more processes, financing its infrastructure”
• role of civil society»Det civila samhället, människornas frivilliga organisering, är en fundamental del av varje väl fungerande demokrati och välfärdsstat.« (party programme ↗)“Civil society, people's voluntary organization, is a fundamental part of every well-functioning democracy and welfare state.”

The party programme assigns the public at all levels to promote the diversity of cultural expression and increase access to culture, and highlights libraries' central role and support for free public education. The election manifesto wants to improve civil society financing through long-term state grants. The counter-proposal's requirement that the state, regions and municipalities together create better conditions for meeting places follows from these commitments.

• culture accessible to alldecisive»Det offentliga ska på alla nivåer gynna mångfalden av kulturuttryck, öka kulturens tillgänglighet« (party programme ↗)“The public shall at all levels promote the diversity of cultural expression, increase access to culture”
• long-term support for civil society»Vi vill fortsätta förbättra civilsamhällets finansiering genom både bredare skatteavdrag för gåvor och långsiktiga statsbidrag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to continue to improve civil society financing through both broader tax deductions for donations and long-term state grants.”
• public libraries' role»Biblioteken har en central roll för att alla ska ha kostnadsfri tillgång till litteratur och annan kultur« (party programme ↗)“Libraries have a central role in order for everyone to have free access to literature and other culture”
• support for free public education»värnar liberaler bildningstanken, främjar bildningsresor och stödjer den fria folkbildningen.« (party programme ↗)“liberals value the idea of education, promote educational journeys and support free public education.”

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 places on the state the responsibility for cultural infrastructure throughout the country and highlights public education and libraries as core parts of a rich cultural life. The counter-proposal's demand that the state, regions and municipalities together create better conditions for community halls, public libraries and local public education is precisely such infrastructure that makes culture accessible also outside the major cities. Therefore, the plan supports the demand, even though it does not explicitly mention community halls.

• cultural infrastructure throughout the countrydecisive»det som brukar benämnas en kulturell infrastruktur, i hela landet« (party programme ↗)“what is usually called cultural infrastructure, throughout the country”
• public education's essential role»Ett rikt kulturliv vitaliserar även demokratin. I detta sammanhang spelar folkbildningen en omistlig roll.« (party programme ↗)“A rich cultural life also vitalises democracy. In this context, public education plays an essential role.”
• protect public libraries»Vi vill värna den unika plats för läsning« (party programme ↗)“We want to protect the unique place for reading”
• the whole country shall function»Hela Sverige ska fungera och det ska gå att bo och verka även utanför de stora städerna.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The whole of Sweden shall function and it shall be possible to live and work even outside the large cities.”

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 contains no commitments to public gathering places or a joint state-regional-municipal commitment to culture's infrastructure. The closest principles are that politics must prioritize and rule out, that core tasks come first and that cultural institutions should ideally stand free from state and politics. The counter-proposal's requirement for new public commitments therefore does not follow from the plan.

• prioritization of state tasksdecisive»Politiken har en viktig uppgift att prioritera och välja bort« (party programme ↗)“Politics has an important task to prioritize and rule out”
• core tasks first»De stora behoven inom rättsväsendet, försvaret och välfärden ställer stora krav på prioriteringar under åren som kommer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The major needs in justice, defence and welfare place heavy demands on prioritizations in the years to come.”
• culture's independence from the state»Målet ska vara självständiga institutioner som i sin verksamhet står fria från stat och politik.« (party programme ↗)“The goal shall be independent institutions that in their work stand free from state and politics.”

The plan states that Swedish culture should reach all of Sweden and that policy should be conducted for the whole country, and wants society to promote civil society to a greater extent. Better conditions for meeting halls and local adult education align with this. The plan simultaneously wants to give citizens greater influence over cultural funds rather than increase public grants.

• culture throughout the countrydecisive»Politiken bör utformas för att den svenska kulturen ska nå hela Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Policy should be designed so that Swedish culture reaches all of Sweden.”
• the whole country shall thrive»Bedriva en politik för hela Sverige« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Conduct a policy for all of Sweden”
• promote civil society»Samhället bör i större utsträckning tillgodose behovet av idrottsanläggningar, främja föreningslivet och underlätta elitklubbar att bedriva verksamhet på en nivå som mäter sig i internationell konkurrens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society should to a greater extent meet the need for sports facilities, promote civil society and facilitate elite clubs to conduct activities at a level that compares in international competition.”
• citizen influence over cultural funds»Fördela offentliga kulturmedel och utforma offentliga miljöer med ett större medborgarinflytande« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Distribute public cultural funds and shape public environments with greater citizen influence”

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.