Social Democrats offer Center Party 135-point package with school profit ban

Sweden’s Social Democrats have proposed a 135-point package for talks with the Center Party, including a ban on profits in schools and preschools and the removal of the wage floor for migrant workers. SVT says it has obtained the full proposal, which party leader Magdalena Andersson presented to the Center Party on Friday.

The package begins with shared priorities that include boosting growth and jobs, carrying out the climate transition, strengthening welfare across the country, improving security and protecting democracy and the rule of law.

One of the proposal’s main points is constitutional protection for forest ownership. The document says voluntary measures should be the starting point when forests are protected, while landowners should be shielded from what it calls unreasonable appeals procedures and disproportionate evidentiary requirements. It also says EU legislation should not be implemented more extensively than necessary.

The Social Democrats propose replacing the current wage floor for labour immigration with a flexible system based on the needs of businesses and public services. The rules would be developed jointly by government agencies and the social partners, but without giving the latter a veto. The party also wants to stop the deportation of skilled workers.

For agriculture, the package proposes extending a temporary reduction in carbon and energy taxes on diesel used in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. It also calls for an investigation into a technology-neutral tax deduction for agriculture.

The proposed school profit ban would cover both schools and preschools, alongside a total ban on transferring funds out of them. The party says school choice should be protected, while queue time should no longer be used to decide school placements. The package also proposes abolishing the sick-pay qualifying deduction, a measure supported by the Left Party but opposed by the Center Party.

Other proposals include a tax review, a Swedish artificial intelligence programme, renewed investment in employment services and vocational education, improved rail and public transport, more fossil-free energy, and stronger local and regional finances. The package also calls for increased food production, changes to parental insurance, stronger protections for public service media and expanded military and civil defence.

The document describes a government led by the Social Democrats with the Center Party and the Green Party, working in cooperation with the Left Party. But Left Party deputy leader Ida Gabrielsson told SVT that her party still wants to be part of a government it supports. Center Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has said the party wants to return to the negotiating table. The Social Democrats describe the package as a basis for further government talks.