The war in Iran has driven up the price of gasoline and diesel, and the government and the Sweden Democrats previously proposed reduced fuel taxes.
Now there's support for public transport, which will enable the regions to halve monthly pass prices from July 1 to December 31, 2026.
The price reduction will take place by the state compensating the regions that reduce the price by 50 percent during the second half of 2026, Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson says at a press conference together with the other Tidö leaders.
Motivated to borrow
This involves a total of 6.5 billion kronor in a supplementary budget for the country's regions.
Ulf Kristersson says it is justified for the state to borrow for the proposal and points out that the support is temporary.
We want to avoid the economy being dragged down further by what is happening in the Middle East.
Encouraging public transport also reduces pressure on fuel consumption in Sweden, he says at a press conference together with the other Tidö leaders.
At the same time, the government points out that there is a risk that the effects of the war in the Middle East will be long-lasting. Even if the war were to end tomorrow, the government expects economic effects throughout 2026.
When asked who will dare to raise prices again at the turn of the year, Kristersson's answer is that "You have to follow the development."
Right now we are working on the assumption that this is, after all, a temporary crisis in the Middle East, he says.
"Electoral pork"
The support for public transport is welcomed by the Green Party, which, however, wants to see a permanent reduction. Green Party spokesperson Daniel Helldén claims that the government's proposal is about "electoral pork":
"When inflation hit its hardest, Swedish public transport did not receive a single krona in support. Now, with just over a hundred days left until the election, the same government is trying to pretend that it cares about public transport passengers," he says in a comment.
Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar also believes that the reduction should be made permanent.
"A monthly pass should not cost more than 450 kronor for an adult anywhere in Sweden. The reduction is here to stay," writes Dadgostar in a post on X.
The government's crisis package totals SEK 17.5 billion. It also includes support for agriculture and domestic aviation. All measures in the package are temporary.
