Sweden to present transition budget without new political initiatives

Sweden’s finance minister, Elisabeth Svantesson, is due to present a transition budget on Thursday, with no party-political initiatives or new spending measures, public broadcaster SVT reports. The country still has no new government.

The budget is being prepared by the outgoing caretaker government. It must be based on the most recently adopted budget and cannot include politically controversial decisions, SVT says.

“It is about keeping Sweden functioning,” Svantesson said when she outlined the conditions for the budget in October.

SVT political commentator Mats Knutson said a new government wishing to make larger changes could wait until the spring budget amendment in April. Despite the lack of new political initiatives, the transition budget will still have winners and losers, he said.