More immigrants, higher fuel prices, and more foreign aid. These are some of the concessions proposed by a think tank close to the Center Party want to see C pave the way for a center-right government backed by the Sweden Democrats. When you look at what’s required, many voters in Tidö would rather see a special election than comply with demands that would completely undermine Tidö’s political agenda.
Government negotiations have stalled. At present, a red-green government seems unlikely, as the Center Party (C) refuses to join a government with the Left Party, which is demanding ministerial posts in exchange for its support. This has sparked speculation that the C, a market-liberal party, may shift to the right toward the Tidöblocket. This is not out of the question, given that the C was part of a coalition government with three of those parties from 2006 to 2014.
The cost of such a collaboration could be extremely high—not only for Sweden as a country and society, but also for the credibility of the Tidö parties. The CEO of Fores, a Green and liberal think tank Matilda Molander presents in an op-ed in Industry Today proposals on how C could support a center-right government.
Fores has historical ties to the Center Party, but is formally nonpartisan. Molander himself ran for the Riksdag as a candidate for the Center Party in the 2010 election and served on the executive board of the Center Party Youth League (CUF) in 2014.
Harsh Words for the Sweden Democrats
Molander believes there are, above all, two basic conditions that must be met for C to support a Tidö government, both of which are directed at the Sweden Democrats (SD). The parties must not be given any ministerial posts, and they must agree to make significant political concessions.
Some of the most controversial proposals concern immigration. Among other things, they would involve eliminating the minimum wage requirement for labor immigration, lowering the requirements for family-based immigration, increasing the number of quota refugees, and reinstating the “particularly compelling circumstances” provision.
In addition, Molander wants to raise fuel prices, lower the electricity tax, increase foreign aid, and adopt the euro. Several of these proposals thus run counter to the policies pursued by the Tidö parties during the previous term of office.
”The policy proposal itself is really more of a provocation aimed at the Sweden Democrats—obviously impossible, but it’s somewhat interesting that the Center Party’s think tank is even floating the hypothesis of a coalition government with Sweden Democrat support.” writes Expressen's political commentator Viktor Barth-Kron on X About Molander's list.
Can the SD accept the award?
In practice, Molander’s proposals amount to a profound humiliation of the SD. While there has been talk that the SD is willing to give up ministerial posts to appease the C, it is also being forced to support policies that run completely counter to everything the SD stands for. More immigration and a radical climate policy are exactly what the SD’s voters do not want.
If the SD were to agree to this, it could very well spell the end of the party in the next election.
It should be noted that Molander’s statement is not an official announcement from C, which has not commented in detail on any agreement. However, given that she and Fores have such strong ties to the party, it is likely that this is, after all, what would be required for C to agree to switch to Tidö. One can only speculate as to how the other Tidö parties and former Alliance partners would feel about this.
