The Social Democrats have devised a new by-election strategy that will form the basis of its policy development going forward. This marks the first time in a long time that the party has comprehensively reviewed its policy. Magdalena Andersson, the party leader, points out the necessity for a brand new social analysis. She is also critical of the party’s handling of recent developments such as growing economic gaps, privatization, and differences in living conditions in cities and rural areas. She states that the country is facing a new reality regarding its own electorate, and one of the key questions it needs to deal with is to create a new climate policy. The Social Democrats will prioritize addressing segregation across various policy areas, such as sticking to a strict migration policy. Tax issues and redistribution policies will also be on the agenda, but Andersson does not propose generally raising income taxes.
The Social Democrats’ party board agreed last Friday on a new by-election strategy that will form the basis of policy development in the coming term. For S, it will be the first time in a very long time that the party makes a more comprehensive review of its own policy. S leader Magdalena Andersson sees a need to make a completely new social analysis.
– It’s been a long time since we did something more comprehensive, she says.
At the same time, she is self-critical of how her own party has handled the development of recent years with growing economic gaps, privatizations and greater differences between living conditions in cities and rural areas.
– The social development that we have seen in Sweden in recent decades has broken much of the social community that we have had. The analysis is a project to build a new social community.
Photo: Roger Turesson
S time in power was characterized by recurring crises and compromises that stung the social democratic soul. Abolishing the welfare tax for high income earners is one such example. Magdalena Andersson emphasizes that there was a bourgeois majority in the Riksdag even during the years that S ruled and that this is one of the reasons why her party has not been able to do more for social development.
– There are many parties behind this. But we can state that we social democrats have not been able to do enough either.
She still has no answers as to how S will be able to gain greater influence. She does not want to single out any particular cooperation partner, but emphasizes that there are many conceivable alternatives that do not necessarily follow the traditional block boundaries. However, cooperation with the Sweden Democrats is excluded.
– The right is our main opponent and SD is the largest party in Sweden’s right. Every day a minister goes to work, it’s because Jimmie Åkesson thinks it’s okay. It will be a very important task for us to make it clear that SD stands behind the government’s decision.
The Social Democrats stand also facing a new reality regarding their own electorate. After all, S advanced in the last election, even though it lost power. But it is not among the traditional S voters that the successes have primarily been reaped. Instead, it is in the big cities that S can note its biggest gains, while rural voters were more cold-hearted.
– In the countryside there is a feeling of being left behind. It is of course one of the things we will work on in our updated social analysis.
Photo: Roger Turesson
Magdalena Andersson links the development, among other things, to the increasing economic gaps.
– Those who have won from it mainly live in our big cities. Then of course there will be growing dissatisfaction with the parties that have been involved in governing.
One of the key questions to deal with is to carve out a new climate policy. Even if she doesn’t want to say it outright, it hints at criticism of how her own government adapted too much to the Green Party in these matters.
– We have not been able to develop a climate policy that takes into account the different living conditions in Sweden. We need a climate policy that takes into account in a different way that living conditions look very different in big cities and where there is no public transport.
Photo: Roger Turesson
Another area that is prioritized in future work is segregation. The party’s election analysis singled out this very issue as particularly important for S to deal with. According to Magdalena Andersson, segregation extends across several policy areas and one of them is to stick to a strict migration policy.
– We made a major restructuring of the migration policy and we stand by it, she says and continues:
– We have had a large migration that has not been met with sufficient measures and this has created extensive segregation.
Redistribution policy and tax issues will also be on the agenda, but Magdalena Andersson does not want to go into whether it will lead to an increased tax burden.
– We went to the election because we thought that people with the highest incomes could contribute more. We are in a situation where ordinary people are struggling to pay the electricity bills and put food on the table. In that situation, generally raising income taxes is not something we will propose.
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