"We as a country are not in a major economic crisis now. But we are in a very prolonged recession," she says at a press conference.
Elisabeth Svantesson will present on Wednesday the additional amending budget the government is presenting because of the war in the Middle East.
In principle, all measures are already known and have been presented by the government at various press conferences. In total, the crisis package includes 17.5 billion kronor. The largest part, 7.7 billion kronor, goes to further cuts to fuel taxes.
Heavy criticism
In addition, there is support for public transport of 6.5 billion kronor, intended to halve ticket prices in the second half of the year. The government has also presented support for farmers and aviation, as well as more money to cover the costs of the previously announced electricity support.
The government has pointed out that households have been affected by high fuel prices and that there is concern among households about future developments. This concern may affect the willingness to spend and thereby further dampen the recovery in the Swedish economy.
But the support measures are financed by loans, and the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council, among others, has been critical of the measures, calling them “bad economic policy.” According to the council, there is a risk that a new norm will be established in politics, which means that the state steps in and compensates households every time prices rise.
“Temporary and targeted”
However, Svantesson believes that the measures are coming at the right time, and she also points out that they are temporary and targeted.
"Not everyone may recognize that there is an energy crisis in the world. It is also true that we have partly succeeded in what we have been saying all along: building protective walls to make things as easy as possible for the Swedish people," she says.
The idea is that the crisis package will be hammered out before the Riksdag's summer recess. All measures are temporary and will come into effect at different times during the year.
