Eriksson: Löfvens proposals is not enough – Swedish Dagbladet

Stefan Löfven made speeches on S Congress in Västerås. Photo: Tomas Oneborg

S tefan Löfven did not come to S-Congress with new proposals are sufficient to meet job target. Congress must now decide whether the increased investment will be paid by loans or increased taxes.

He resurfaced in his speech on the S-Congress first day. The moral Stefan Löfven, which requires that Swedish students perform better in school, and has his eyes fixed on the Swedish export industry. The Stefan Löfven that could attract voters on the other side of the block boundary, and charm the business community. And the Löfven who spoke on S Congress in Västerås met again that the intersection between classical work ethic, and bourgeois virtues. It is a picture of Löfven which aroused much interest when he was new at his post, but that has changed since he became Prime Minister and was drawn into very unclear compromises with the Green Party, and very clear tax increases. And opinion polls the Social Democrats are now such that Stefan Löfven may not afford to fail to pick up my voters from the pulpit on an S-Congress.

A completely different question is how he will use the congress to raise morale among the already convinced party comrades.

“How To Spend It” is a little provocative name of an Annex to the Financial Times. The basic question which the newspaper wants to answer is roughly this: how, in the too few hours of time off, time to make off with the huge sums of money that you earn on the job? And the answer is – roughly – luxury yachts, private jets, vineyards and jewels. It is not the kind of expenditure which has been manifested in the form of spending demands facing the S Congress. But you do not want to spend: In order not to risk seem frivolous, the party has banned the word spend, and now speaks only of investments.

“How to Invest IT ‘ can thus conclude focus as LO, SSU and several S-districts – including the tongue and left leaning Skane – gather under. And the money will go to, among other things, investments in education, infrastructure, housing, health care. Classic reform policy, in other words. There is a conflict issue is that this Congress forces want the state loan finance their new ventures. The time is right – interest rates are at record lows – to borrow money for investments reads the argument. And then attach to this extension: investment is necessary to meet the party’s jobbmål on the EU’s lowest unemployment rate in 2020. At the congress the first day went Stefan Löfven them not to meet other than in general terms – that is to say that he also wants to see increased investment. But Löfven do not want to create the investment by weakening – borrow more money – state economy.

As the main funding remains in blunted larger tax increases – an opportunity that many S-districts pointed to the Svenska Dagbladet yesterday. But tax increases are not the same stimulating effect on the economy, and is no obvious asset when the next election is approaching.

“How To Spend It” is the party quite agree. “How to pay that” is the question that Congress will now have to decide.

Stefan Löfven the press conference in connection with the inauguration of the S Congress in Västerås on Friday. Photo: Pontus Lundahl / TT / TT news agency