Centre leader rejects Busch demands over veils and healthcare

Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has rejected several demands from Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch, despite wanting to form a government with the Christian Democrats, SVT reports.

Thand Ringqvist has repeatedly said she wants to form a centrist government with the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats. Busch instead invited the Centre Party to join the Tidö parties and set out several policy demands.

Among them was a call to nationalise healthcare and abolish Sweden’s 21 regions. Thand Ringqvist rejected the proposal.

“We do not believe in nationalising healthcare in a centralised way,” she said.

The Centre leader also rejected the Christian Democrats’ proposal to ban full-body garments, including the burka and niqab, in public places.

“No, we are liberals, so we believe people should be allowed to wear whatever they want,” she said.

Thand Ringqvist said the Centre Party had another approach to clothing worn under coercion. Such coercion is controlling behaviour and is already punishable, she said, adding that it should be handled in that way.

She has previously said that joining the Tidö parties is “completely out of the question” because the Centre Party does not want to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats.

However, she has not ruled out cooperation with the Christian Democrats. She said the parties’ policy differences would have to be discussed after the election, adding that a centrist government would involve many demands to negotiate.