Parliament review of potential agreements

The plan rejects expanded nuclear power and requires that decisions with large, complex consequences are made with a comprehensive perspective and democratically. That each agreement between the state and the company is tested separately by the Riksdag responds to the plan's principle that the people's political power is exercised by the Riksdag and that the government is accountable to it. Remaining uncertainties about costs and state commitments make the testing even more justified.

• rejects expanded nuclear powerdecisive»planerna på att bygga ut kärnkraften som en väg ut ur fossilberoendet.« (party programme ↗)“plans to expand nuclear power as a way out of fossil fuel dependence.”
• the people's power is exercised by the Riksdag»Folkets politiska makt över staten ska utövas av riksdagen, tillsatt« (party programme ↗)“The people's political power over the state shall be exercised by the Riksdag, appointed”
• government accountable to the Riksdag»Regeringen ska vara ansvarig inför riksdagen.« (party programme ↗)“The government shall be accountable to the Riksdag.”
• large decisions with comprehensive perspective»Vi vill att fler av de beslut som har stora, komplexa konsekvenser för« (party programme ↗)“We want more of the decisions that have large, complex consequences for”

The party programme establishes that political responsibility can never be handed over to unelected officials and that democracy takes precedence over the market. Agreements that bind the state to major economic commitments should therefore be examined by the Riksdag. The election manifesto's promise to guarantee the credibility of the Swedish economy points in the same direction. The plan therefore supports the counter-proposal's demand.

• political responsibility cannot be delegateddecisive»ansvaret kan aldrig överlämnas till icke valda ämbetsmän.« (party programme ↗)“responsibility can never be handed over to unelected officials.”
• responsibility for state finances»Garantera trovärdigheten för svensk ekonomi.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Guarantee the credibility of the Swedish economy.”
• democracy's precedence»Demokratin har därför företräde före marknaden.« (party programme ↗)“Democracy therefore takes precedence over the market.”
• openness and transparency»Den demokratiska processen och samhällsförvaltningen måste bygga på offentlighet och« (party programme ↗)“The democratic process and governance of society must be built on openness and”

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 opposes new reactors and warns that nuclear power requires hundreds of billions from the state. The party programme also establishes that citizens must always be able to scrutinize power and that common concerns must be handled with openness and democratic decisions. A requirement that each agreement with large state commitments be reviewed specially follows from these commitments.

• no new reactorsdecisive»Vi motsätter oss byggandet av nya reaktorer i Sverige, eller effekthöjning i befintliga, och vill i stället påbörja avvecklingen av kärnkraften omedelbart.« (party programme ↗)“We oppose building new reactors in Sweden, or power increases in existing ones, and instead want to begin phasing out nuclear power immediately.”
• large state risks»Kärnkraften tar minst 15 år att bygga, kräver hundratals miljarder av staten i investeringar och har enorma säkerhetsrisker.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Nuclear power takes at least 15 years to build, requires hundreds of billions from the state in investments and has enormous safety risks.”
• scrutiny of power»Medborgarna ska alltid kunna granska makten.« (party programme ↗)“Citizens must always be able to scrutinize power.”
• open democratic review»Våra gemensamma angelägenheter ska hanteras med öppenhet, respekt, fri debatt och demokratiska beslut.« (party programme ↗)“Our common concerns must be handled with openness, respect, free debate and democratic decisions.”

The election manifesto wants to protect democratic institutions and explicitly the opposition's position in the Riksdag, and requires that the fiscal framework be protected and that policy be prudent with taxpayers' money. When agreements determine the state's economic commitments, these commitments speak for the Riksdag to examine them. The plan's vision of a society without nuclear power provides no support for handing over decisions without examination.

• the Riksdag's and opposition's positiondecisive»Våra demokratiska institutioner behöver skydd. Vi vill göra det svårare att ändra grundlagen, skydda oppositionens ställning i riksdagen och stärka domstolarnas oberoende.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Our democratic institutions need protection. We want to make it harder to change the constitution, protect the opposition's position in the Riksdag and strengthen the independence of the courts.”
• responsibility for state finances»Det finanspolitiska ramverket ska värnas och förstärkas, och Sveriges långsiktiga ekonomiska stabilitet ska försvaras. Politiken ska hushålla med skattebetalarnas pengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The fiscal framework shall be protected and strengthened, and Sweden's long-term economic stability shall be defended. Policy should be prudent with taxpayers' money.”
• openness and transparency»Öppenhet och transparens är grundförutsättningar för frihet, demokrati och för att förhindra korruption och övergrepp.« (party programme ↗)“Openness and transparency are fundamental prerequisites for freedom, democracy and for preventing corruption and abuse.”
• vision of a society without nuclear power»Sverige har både möjlighet och skyldighet att inom mindre än en generation bli ett samhälle med hundra procent förnybar energi, helt fritt från fossil energi, där Centerpartiets vision är ett samhälle utan kärnkraft.« (party programme ↗)“Sweden has both the opportunity and the obligation to become a society with one hundred per cent renewable energy, completely free from fossil fuels, within less than a generation, where the Centre Party's vision is a society without nuclear power.”

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 wants the state to actively facilitate nuclear power expansion through loan guarantees, modernized regulations and efforts that make the market able to invest. A requirement that each individual agreement shall be approved specially adds an obstacle that the plan does not demand and which delays the expansion. The plan's commitment to transparency in public exercise of power does not change that assessment.

• state loan guarantees to nuclear powerdecisive»I stället vill vi möjliggöra fler nya reaktorer på fler ställen, möjliggöra återstart av Ringhals 1 och 2, se till att statliga lånegarantier omfattar kärnkraften, modernisera regelverken och ge kärnkraften betalt för att den alltid finns tillgänglig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Instead we want to enable more new reactors in more places, enable restart of Ringhals 1 and 2, ensure that state loan guarantees cover nuclear power, modernize regulations and pay nuclear power for always being available.”
• the state facilitates nuclear power»Kärnkraften behövs för klimatets skull och för att minska världens utsläpp. Staten bör underlätta« (party programme ↗)“Nuclear power is needed for the climate's sake and to reduce the world's emissions. The state should facilitate”
• transparency in public power»Offentlighetsprincipen har en grundläggande betydelse för att förankra och fördjupa folkstyret,« (party programme ↗)“The principle of public access has fundamental importance for anchoring and deepening popular rule,”

The plan is based on the imperfection idea: too much power must not be placed in few hands and there must be effective means against abuse of power and power concentration. That the Riksdag specially approves agreements binding major state commitments is one such control, and the plan furthermore requires responsible management of public finances. Derived from these principles the counter-proposal's demand is supported, even though the plan does not address the agreement form itself.

• control of powerdecisive»Det måste finnas effektiva medel mot maktmissbruk och maktkoncentration.« (party programme ↗)“There must be effective means against abuse of power and power concentration.”
• the imperfection idea»Människans ofullkomlighet innebär att för mycket makt inte får läggas i en enskild människas, grupps eller partis händer.« (party programme ↗)“Human imperfection means that too much power must not be placed in one person's, group's or party's hands.”
• responsible public finances»Resurser i form av en ren miljö, ansvarsfullt skötta offentliga finanser och ett robust försäkringssystem måste säkerställas.« (party programme ↗)“Resources in the form of a clean environment, responsibly managed public finances and a robust insurance system must be ensured.”
• restraint in public spending»Sparandet i den svenska ekonomin måste hållas högt genom hushållssparande och genom återhållsamhet i de offentliga utgifterna.« (party programme ↗)“Savings in the Swedish economy must be kept high through household savings and through restraint in public spending.”

flags: citat_migrerat

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 commitment is for the state to facilitate financing of new nuclear power through loan guarantees and high-cost protection, and for the work to proceed quickly, such as the task for immediate completion of a feasibility study at Ringhals. A requirement that every individual agreement shall be separately approved adds a new review on top of the model the plan wants to establish and risks delaying expansion. The plan's ambition for accountability for public decisions qualifies but weighs lighter.

• the state shall facilitate financingdecisive»Införa gröna kreditgarantier för ny kärnkraft – staten ska underlätta finansieringen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce green loan guarantees for new nuclear power – the state shall facilitate financing”
• rapid expansion»Ge Vattenfall i uppdrag att omedelbart genomföra en förstudie för att bygga ny kärnkraft vid Ringhals« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Task Vattenfall with immediately conducting a feasibility study to build new nuclear power at Ringhals”
• state high-cost protection»Införa ett statligt högkostnadsskydd för konstruktionen av ny kärnkraft« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce state high-cost protection for the construction of new nuclear power”
• accountability for public decisions»Vi ser stora behov av att förstärka domstolarnas oberoende och förtydliga hur ansvar kan utkrävas för offentliga beslut.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We see great needs to strengthen the courts' independence and clarify how responsibility can be held for public decisions.”

The plan requires a long-term investment in new nuclear power with a roadmap and emphasizes industry's need for a predictable process for investments to happen. A requirement that every individual agreement must be separately approved by parliament adds a new element of uncertainty to the expansion. The plan does want to strengthen parliamentary review, but the weightiest commitment is expansion.

• roadmap for new nuclear powerdecisive»Skapa förutsättningar för ny kärnkraft i Sverige och en färdplan för byggandet av SMR-reaktorer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create conditions for new nuclear power in Sweden and a roadmap for building SMR reactors”
• predictable processes»En förutsättning för att lönsamma investeringar ska kunna göras är en långsiktig politik som tar hänsyn till industrins behov av en förutsägbar process.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“A prerequisite for profitable investments being made is a long-term policy that takes account of industry's need for a predictable process.”
• long-term nuclear power investment»Sverigedemokraterna vill göra en långsiktig satsning på den nya generationens kärnkraft.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Sweden Democrats want to make a long-term investment in the new generation of nuclear power.”
• strengthened parliamentary review»Lagrådets ställning bör stärkas genom att utreda möjligheten att fordra kvalificerad majoritet i riksdagen vid antaganden av lagförslag om vilka Lagrådet riktat kritik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The position of the Legal Council should be strengthened by investigating the possibility of requiring a qualified majority in parliament when adopting bills to which the Legal Council has directed criticism.”