Opposition seeks to defeat Tidö parties crime bill

Sweden’s opposition is trying to block a government criminal law reform in Thursday’s parliamentary vote, and hopes Liberal MPs will break with their party, SVT reports.

The reform contains a range of tougher penalties, including the abolition of the so-called volume discount for multiple offences.

The Social Democrats support abolishing the discount but argue that the government’s proposal is too expensive and cannot be implemented. The party will therefore join the other opposition parties in submitting a joint reservation against the proposal.

Everything can happen. The balance of power in parliament is very close, said Teresa Carvalho, the Social Democrats’ spokesperson on legal policy.

The Tidö parties’ majority is uncertain, particularly because the parliamentary pairing system does not apply. This means unexpected absences, such as illness, could determine the outcome.

The opposition is also hoping that individual Liberal MPs will vote against the government. Earlier this summer, the government withdrew a proposal to allow 13-year-olds to be imprisoned after several Liberal MPs planned to vote against it, according to SVT.

I naturally hope there are one or two people prepared to vote for the more reasonable proposal, Carvalho said.

Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson said her party would support the government’s proposal. However, she has not received a guarantee from every Liberal MP.

I do not go to the parliamentary group and ask exactly how they will vote on every issue. We are a group, and politics is teamwork. Throughout this parliamentary term, we have voted as a team, Mohamsson said.