Minister of Finance Elisabeth Svantesson (M) will today report on how much room for reform there is during the next term of office.
"We demand open books from the Minister of Finance," says the Social Democrats' economic policy spokesperson Mikael Damberg.
Now the deficits are so large that they will definitely affect the next term.
Damberg wants clear information about a large part of the reform space until 2030 that is already pledged.
Running out of money?
Even though the government sees that the Swedish economy is improving, the message from the Minister of Finance is expected to be harsh.
The reason is that government spending will increase sharply in the coming years due to already decided investments in defence, infrastructure and the justice system.
They are expected to eat up a large portion of the increased tax revenue as the economy picks up.
The government's line is that what remains in the form of reform space needs to be used for defence to reach the target of 3.5 percent of GDP, for loan financing of rearmament to begin to decrease, for completing the government's major criminal justice reform, and for maintaining the current level of welfare.
According to the government, all new election promises need to be financed through, for example, savings or tax increases.
It sounds like the room for reform is not there because the government has run out of money, says Damberg.
No easy journey
The Moderates claim that they are the only party that has a "plan" for how election promises of SEK 78 billion so far will be paid. The plan consists of savings in government agencies, more efficient government procurement, reduced structural unemployment, tighter unemployment insurance, less benefit fraud and reduced aid.
S has also presented a "plan" that is said to be enough to finance important election promises by stopping the waste of tax money.
The party plans to present its election manifesto next week. In the election platform that was presented a while ago, and which is less comprehensive, the election promises are estimated to cost 36 billion.
But there will be more than that in the election manifesto, says Damberg.
He accuses the Moderates of mismanaging the state's finances, primarily by focusing on tax cuts instead of fighting unemployment. But his criticism is also broader.
This election campaign, many parties have left planet Earth and are in some kind of parallel universe with all the election promises being made, he says.
No one should pretend that the next term will be an easy ride.
