Today, the government, where The Liberals are included, announced that they are appointing an inquiry into a national begging ban. A proposal is to be submitted next summer.
The Sweden Democrats hope that a national ban will be in place before the end of the term.
This is a good thing, and I believe that The Liberals will agree with it when it's on the table, says SD's group leader Linda Lindberg at a press conference.
But from The Liberals, the tone is different.
We do not agree on a national begging ban today, says The Liberals' party secretary Jakob Olofsgård.
"I stand firm"
As early as 2016, Anna Starbrink, now defense policy spokesperson for The Liberals, wrote that she says no to a begging ban, motivated by the fact that it does not help vulnerable people and that they will likely continue to beg elsewhere.
On Monday, she announced that she stands by her stance. In a Facebook post, she writes: "The Tidö Agreement only means that an inquiry into a begging ban will be conducted, but there is no agreement to introduce such a ban. I stand by my previous statement and will not contribute to the introduction of a begging ban."
Other Liberals who have also been critical are Members of Parliament Lina Nordquist, group leader for The Liberals, and Joar Forssell, foreign policy spokesperson for the party. TT has sought both without success.
The Liberals have also said no to a begging ban at their national meeting.
All parties have and should have discussions on difficult issues, this is such an issue, says Jakob Olofsgård.
S does not respond
If the three Liberals were to vote against the proposal, the government and the Sweden Democrats could lose their majority. They currently have 176 seats, with one member being a political wild card, while the opposition has 173 seats – with one wild card as well.
But the opposition is not united either. All opposition parties except the Social Democrats announced today that they are against a begging ban.
The Social Democrats do not want to comment, but have previously opened up to a national ban.
