Much has happened since 2013 when the Social Democrats last updated their party program. A refugee crisis has shaken Europe, Donald Trump has been elected president in the USA twice, several terrorist attacks have occurred in Europe, and a wave of organized crime is sweeping over Sweden.
The Social Democrats have also got Magdalena Andersson as party leader.
For me, it was obvious that there is a greater potential for social democracy in our time, says Andersson at a press conference.
She describes the new program as a "shot in the arm" with a more direct approach.
It's a bit like me, I think it's good when it's straightforward and clear, says Andersson.
We will go to the election as a changed party with a policy that has its starting point in the social problems we have today.
Criminality major issue
Criminality, a word that did not even occur in the previous program, has got its own section.
"It has been necessary to meet the serious crime with a shift in criminal policy where a number of penalties have been tightened", it says in the program, which then lists 16 points for how S will conduct its criminal policy.
In the immigration issue, S has completely changed its stance.
"We want to have a generous and regulated immigration", declared in 2013. Now, they advocate for a "tough Swedish migration policy" and "greater demands on everyone in Sweden to learn Swedish".
We need to have a tough migration policy now so that those who have come here and are here can become part of our society, says Andersson.
Abolish the monarchy
The war in Gaza and Ukraine is also addressed in the program. Sweden and Finland have become members of NATO, and that Sweden should be alliance-free has thus been deleted.
In contrast to 2013, when S stated that "democracy is gaining ground in the world", there is now the heading "Democracy is challenged".
Many positions are still the same. S still has an anti-capitalist orientation and the party still wants to abolish the monarchy – and drive the issue in the same way as before:
With the same force and enthusiasm as the last 100 years, says Magdalena Andersson jokingly.
The draft party program is now being circulated within the party and will be finalized at the party congress in May next year.
S's first party program was presented in 1897. In the proposal now presented, a total of 197 political points are listed on 14 different areas.
Here are some issues where the party has changed direction in the last ten years:
Immigration should be tight – not generous.
S is now advocating for tougher penalties and placing great emphasis on criminal policy, which was hardly mentioned in 2013.
Nuclear power would be replaced by "environmentally friendly and renewable energy". In the new program, fossil-free electricity is mentioned, but not nuclear power.
No profit should be taken in school, which is a sharper formulation than before.
Alliance freedom has been replaced by NATO membership.
Overall, the party describes in its social analysis a darker world with more conflicts, a challenged democracy, and a worse security situation than in 2013. Then, a large part of the analysis consisted of the effects of globalization.
Source: The Social Democrats
