When the defense decision for 2025-2030 is to be voted on in the Riksdag on Tuesday, the eight Riksdag parties have previously agreed in the Defense Committee.
Peter Hultqvist points, despite this, to a number of points that the S wants to "comment" on in the proposal presented by the government. Among other things, the party had wanted to see an analysis of an additional Swedish submarine beyond the five proposed.
It is a weapon that is very deterrent and also effective from an intelligence perspective, says Hultqvist when the defense decision is debated.
"Premature"
According to Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M), it is, however, too early to comment on potential additional submarines.
It may be a bit premature to make decisions exactly on how many submarines you should have before you have decided what type of submarine you should have. This is about replacing the Gotland class, which we will have until 2035, he says.
The S is also critical of the defense proposition's proposal to train 12,000 conscripts annually from 2035 at the latest. The party wants it to happen from 2032, a proposal that, according to Hultqvist, may also need to be adjusted further.
In a deteriorated security policy situation, we need to consider whether we need to take in more conscripts than what is proposed, he says.
According to Jonson, the Swedish Armed Forces have, however, pointed out several challenges with the 2032 goal.
There may be a lack of personnel, i.e., officers who can provide the conscripts with good training, it may be about material deficiencies.
The S and V are also pushing in the debate for the next generation of fighter jets to be developed entirely or partially in Sweden. A decision on this is to be made by 2030 at the latest.
We need a fighter jet that is adapted entirely to our geographical conditions and the type of strategy and tactics we have, says V's defense policy spokesperson Hanna Gunnarsson.
Maintaining Competence at Saab
Pål Jonson says it is important to investigate both domestically developed and imported planes.
On the other hand, we have chosen a path where we allocate billions to maintain competence, primarily for Saab and GKN, under the choice of direction program, he says.
The Green Party's Emma Berginger says in the debate that the MP had wanted to see greater investments in civil defense.
In order for a society to withstand the strains of war, a civil defense is needed that protects the population, gets important social functions to work, and supports the military defense effort.
