Source: shutterstock https://tinyurl.com/5xw4r9d7
As we wait for the newly elected right block in Sweden to “get its government together,” many non-Swedish born people are wondering and worried about how this process works.
What is a government?
The government is the Prime Minister and the Ministers he/she/they appoint to the various departments. It’s not the members of parliament.
This is how it goes: The parliament is elected by the people; the block that commands the biggest percentage in the parliament gets to try to form a government; within that block it is decided who gets to be Prime Minister and who will sit in the government.
Didn’t he come in third?
Because the Moderate party leader Ulf Kristersson has the support of the majority in parliament – even though “he came in third” – he will be Prime Minister. He’s now figuring out who he wants to be Minister of Defense, Minister of Infrastructure, Minister of Justice, Minister of Energy, etc. It is this group of people who will be “the government.” It is here that the Sweden Democrats will not be sitting – they won’t be in the government. At least I don’t think so.
When this government proposes something, they can expect that their block members in parliament support them. When they need the support of SD to get something passed, the government will be dependent on them. If they don’t need the support from SD – if, by chance, an equally large number of parliamentarians agree with what the government is proposing – they won’t be dependent on SD. If, say, the government proposes something that the Social Democrats agree with and will vote for, they won’t need SD.
Can SD change the law so that – oh, for example, foreign nationals can get kicked out of the country for jaywalking? The answer to that is no, not alone. SD, like any other party sitting in parliament, would need to convince the majority of parliament to vote for its motion. Being a member of the ruling block gives access and know-how: These are advantageous tools but they don’t change the procedure.
The worry is that SD, having access and know-how and leverage, can influence the government and the laws it proposes (called propositions). This is a real peril: Self-censure is real. The lust for continued power is real. And compromise is necessary for any government.
Who is the “talman” and why do we care?
Currently, the different parties are in a twist over the position of talman (speaker). The talman is a non-political position and does not even vote. On the other hand, the talman is the highest position a person can be elected to and is officially only subordinate to the king. The talman is the face of the parliament, and leads its daily work. As a sop for not being in the government, SD thinks this would be a nice position to hold. It’s very public, and is a huge step from SD’s past pariah status.
That kind of recognition is simply too much for many members of parliament. Ergo, some parties of the left block have come out to say that they would accept, and vote in favor of, another Moderate party member to have that role. For the moment though, SD is not letting go.
For Kristersson, he’s not even actually Prime Minister yet but he has to deal with the realities of having accepted SD into the block. The fact is that the position of talman is not an important vote-bearing or proposition-making position. In that sense it would be an easy give to SD. But if the Social Democrats say they’ll accept a Moderate party member, then votes-wise Kristersson doesn’t need to give it to SD. He isn’t dependent on SD for this vote. This would be a good way of standing up to SD and not allowing it to dictate anything – while also alienating SD and jeopardizing future cooperation.
Harbinger, anyone?