Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven made an offer on Sunday to avoid a government crisis over a rent law. – Political theater, says the leader of the Left Party.
The Social Democrat Stefan Löfven is Sweden’s Prime Minister. Annie Lööf is the leader of the Center Party. Photo: Government Chancellor
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– Sweden is in a serious situation. We are in the middle of a pandemic, and it still is. In such a situation, a government crisis is not what the country needs, Löfven said. He called a meeting with the press on Sunday.
Löfven proposed that organizations in the housing market should negotiate a new regulation of the Swedish rental market. If they agree by September 1, the government will do as they say. If they do not agree, the government will continue its legislative work.
Meeting Monday at 10
It has been a matter of days before the Social Democrat Löfven and his government are overthrown. The meeting is scheduled for the Riksdag on Monday at 10 am.
Center Party leader Annie Lööf also attended the press conference. The Center Party is not in the government, but secured Löfven’s position as prime minister in 2019.
What is the dispute about?
The core of the controversy is a brick of one investigation which came this year. It proposes to allow for free regulation of rents in new buildings. The goal has been to “create a model that contributes to a well-functioning long-term rental market and efficient utilization” of the housing stock. The idea is that the prospect of better profitability will lead to more homes being built.
The government has not yet proposed any new law. But the report has been sent out for consultation. That was what triggered the crisis.
The leader of the Left Party, Nooshi Dadgostar, has strongly criticized the proposal. The party believes it is a “market experiment with our homes”. The consequences are, according to the party, higher rents for everyone throughout the country, less security for tenants and greater segregation.
In Sweden, more people rent their homes than in Norway. The country has 4.8 million households. Just under 30 percent of them rent housing, figures show SCB.
In Norway leader 550,000 households housing: That’s about 22 percent.
—-Nooshi Dadgostar in the Left Party believes that the negotiations should not take place on the basis of the legal investigation. – Let the parties negotiate without threat, she declares. Photo: Claudio Bresciani, TT, NTB
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– Political theater
Dadgostar commented on Twitter on Sunday on Löfven’s offer.
– It is good that the parties are negotiating, she wrote.
However, she believes the threat of market prices makes this twisted.
– There will be a negotiation under threat where the tenants lose. This is nonsense and a political theater to haul out the process, she writes.
She believes that negotiations should not take place on the basis of the large report.
– Let the parties negotiate without threat, she declares.
Opposite Sveriges Radio where she even clearer.
– As it looks now, we do not trust the Prime Minister.
She said that Sweden is heading for distrust because the government has not taken responsibility for its parliamentary basis.
“I am very concerned about that and the uncompromising nature of this government,” she said.
Political ping pong
Löfven was asked in the meeting with the press on Sunday about her statement. He was surprised.
– That was exactly what the Left Party demanded. They demanded that the market be allowed to sit down and negotiate. Then it will be very strange if you say: “No, we do not accept that”, he told the press.
Dadgostar answered on Swedish Radio. She was also surprised. But she was surprised that Löfven was surprised.
– I have already talked to him that negotiations under threat are not serious. Then the tenants and their representatives get into a hostage situation, she said.
The Left Party is on the left in Swedish politics and is Norwegian SV’s sister party. The other three parties that support distrust belong to the right. That is why what is happening now comes as a surprise to many.
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