On Wednesday, it became clear that the opposition had agreed in the Justice Committee on a joint reservation against the government's bill on a new criminal penalty system.
The bill includes reducing the volume discount on sentences for multiple crimes. The Social Democrats believe that the bill is frivolous because there is no year set for when the proposals can come into force.
It will be the government that takes office after the election that will decide when the laws will come into force and assess when there are enough prison places.
It is the next government that must take responsibility for this, says S:s legal policy spokesperson Teresa Carvalho.
It is important to be honest with the voters. We in S want to abolish the volume discount for violent and sexual crimes. We are going to the election to start with sexual crimes. There we can remove all discounts immediately.
May enter into force in 2030
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) believes that the criticism of the bill is unjustified.
The fact that we don't have an entry-into-force date is the serious way to do this, he says.
In this way, implementation can be adapted to the capacity of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, he believes. According to him, the reform could come into force in 2029 or 2030. This is considered both financially feasible and would allow the Swedish Prison and Probation Service to have time to expand by then.
The government's bill has majority support in the Justice Committee. The Riksdag will make a decision tomorrow.
"It's even. Anything can happen. Of course it would be good if the legislation was stopped," says Carvalho.
But many things point to it being passed and then we will have to reconsider the issue after the election whether we can form a government.
"Never submit"
Gunnar Strömmer points out that S has not yet presented any of its own detailed proposals.
Does it matter so much who wins the vote tomorrow, when it is still the next government that will decide on the entry into force?
A government led by the Social Democrats will never put a reform like this on the table of the Riksdag, says Strömmer.
So the chance for the Riksdag to take a position on this is tomorrow. If it is to be implemented in practice during the next term of office, it also requires that we remain in office.
