Sweden's far-right votes with the government: study
The far-right Sweden Democrats vote with the government nine out of ten times.
That is what a news agency TT study shows of all 289 votes that the Sweden Democrats have been a part of over the past six months.
It makes news every time the Sweden Democrats together with other opposition parties cut down the center-right government's proposals or help push through a red-green proposal. And the most important questions the Sweden Democrats have impacted have been stopping the sale of state-owned companies and cost-savings on government offices.
But it is the government that benefits from the Sweden Democrats' kingmaker role in the Riksdag. During the six months since the election, the Sweden Democrats have supported the government in nine out of ten cases.
“The most important thing the Sweden Democrats have done in their roll as kingmaker is to support the government's budget, which means the Alliance can continue to take peoples' safety nets away," Sven-Rik Österberg, team leader for the Social Democrats, told newspaper Aftonbladet.
But Anna Kinberg Batra, team leader for the Moderate party, disagreed. “Those we rely on within the Alliance are each other, no others,” she said to Aftonbladet.
According to the Swedish constitution a minority government can pass the budget as long as the opposition is unable to unite on an alternative proposal.
The Alliance government is thus not dependent on the support of any other party to enable its budget to pass.
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That is what a news agency TT study shows of all 289 votes that the Sweden Democrats have been a part of over the past six months.
It makes news every time the Sweden Democrats together with other opposition parties cut down the center-right government's proposals or help push through a red-green proposal. And the most important questions the Sweden Democrats have impacted have been stopping the sale of state-owned companies and cost-savings on government offices.
But it is the government that benefits from the Sweden Democrats' kingmaker role in the Riksdag. During the six months since the election, the Sweden Democrats have supported the government in nine out of ten cases.
“The most important thing the Sweden Democrats have done in their roll as kingmaker is to support the government's budget, which means the Alliance can continue to take peoples' safety nets away," Sven-Rik Österberg, team leader for the Social Democrats, told newspaper Aftonbladet.
But Anna Kinberg Batra, team leader for the Moderate party, disagreed. “Those we rely on within the Alliance are each other, no others,” she said to Aftonbladet.
According to the Swedish constitution a minority government can pass the budget as long as the opposition is unable to unite on an alternative proposal.
The Alliance government is thus not dependent on the support of any other party to enable its budget to pass.
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