While the government formation process drags on, the budget clock is ticking towards the deadline. The budget bill for 2027 must be presented to the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) by November 12. Right now, it looks difficult to have a new government in place with a completed budget proposal by then.
In order for authorities and public services to continue operating, the caretaker government in such a situation presents a transitional budget, which is a kind of extension of this year’s budget without new political proposals.
Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson has just failed to form a government, and no red-green budget negotiations have begun. The deadlock over forming a government is blocking the talks.
Left Party: Solve the government issue first
The Left Party wants to decide first which parties will be in the government before substantive policy negotiations begin. The party’s economic policy spokesperson, Ida Gabrielsson, believes that all four parties should vote on the transitional budget.
“I see it as obvious, since we have not come any further, that we need to come together on the transitional budget that the government is obliged to put forward,” she says.
One reason she wants to see coordinated red-green action is to prevent the Tidö parties from joining forces on a joint budget motion. With the seats evenly divided, it could win if the red-green parties vote for different alternatives. A possible new Social Democratic-led government would then be forced to govern on a Tidö budget.
“That is definitely not my plan,” says Mikael Damberg, who is expected to become finance minister in a Social Democratic government.
He sees a transitional budget as a foundation for continued budget work, but does not want to say whether the red-green parties should coordinate and vote for it or try to present a joint budget motion to block a possible Tidö budget. It is “far too hypothetical”, he says.
“If you’re not there all the way, you can’t let other parties define the budget work going forward. That’s my starting point, and it can be done in slightly different ways,” he says.
Green Party wants to go further
Once a new government is in place, it can submit an additional amending budget with policies it wants to pursue. But the Green Party wants the red-green parties to negotiate a joint budget proposal with urgent policies now.
“The transitional budget is still a Tidö product, even if it does not contain new policies,” says Janine Alm Ericson, the Green Party’s economic policy spokesperson.
But at the moment, she is not particularly optimistic about red-green budget talks.
“Right now there is nothing to indicate that,” she says.
Her Centre Party counterpart, Martin Ådahl, does not know whether it is possible to have a new government in place by November 12.
“Then there is a transitional budget to vote on while we wait for new policies,” he says.
