The proposed new Tidö Agreement outlines ambitious reforms, including changes to public service and maritime laws, as well as a revised equalization system. As political think tanks Timbro and Oikos launch 'Tidö 2.0', the collaboration signals a significant shift in Swedish politics, highlighting the evolving dynamics between right-wing parties and their long-term strategies.
The Future of Sweden's Tidö Agreement: Ambitious Reforms and Political Dynamics
The Future of Sweden's Tidö Agreement: Ambitious Reforms and Political Dynamics
More alcohol on the seas and a reformed equalization system. The plans for a new Tidö Agreement encompass a wide range of proposals.
The Tidö parties have long been clear about their desire for re-election. However, their exact plans for the next term remain uncertain.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson dedicated his late summer speech to the need for a 'growth pact' for the Swedish economy and extended a hand to the Center Party. Meanwhile, Jimmie Åkesson spoke about castrating pedophiles.
A bit exaggerated, of course, but also symbolic.
While there are murmurs within the Sweden Democrats about the 'paradigm shift' in immigration and criminal policy moving too slowly, the governing parties are fundamentally satisfied with the reforms currently being implemented and see other needs ahead.
Is continued cooperation even a given?
The major think tank of the right, Timbro, and its Sweden Democrat counterpart, Oikos, have evidently seen the same thing and are now trying to address it.
On Tuesday, the think tanks launched 'Tidö 2.0' – a list of 132 reforms they believe a re-elected right-wing government should tackle after the election.
Parts of the program feel like they were written three or four drinks in on the veranda.
Parts of the program feel like they were written three or four drinks in on the veranda. Halve public service! Raise the limit for maritime intoxication! Everyone should have their own dock! The art school should reject modernism!
Other parts are very ambitious. How about a gradual phasing out of stamp duty in exchange for reduced interest deductions, a review of the system of heritage-listed buildings, and a comprehensive revision of the municipal equalization system?
At times, the real Tidö Agreement seems like a sketch on a napkin in comparison. There is even a proposal for more flexible water and sewage fees.
How much of this could be included in a real Tidö 2 agreement is, of course, difficult to assess. Timbro is not the Moderates, even though they often function as the Moderates' own labor market policy measure, and how rooted Oikos' version of conservatism is in the Sweden Democrats can be debated.
At the same time, the program's point may not be exactly what it contains, but that it exists at all.
Ten years ago, it would have been completely unthinkable for Timbro to do something similar with a Sweden Democrat think tank. Even today's launch is met with loud grumbling from some liberal quarters, but Timbro and its backers in the business community have clearly made up their minds.
Forces around the right-wing parties are preparing the ground for a long-term project. There is confidence and political momentum here.
On the other side of politics, there is disagreement about whether they had coordinated their complaints about the government's latest budget or not.
This pattern, for it truly is a pattern, worries some on the red-green side. And it should.
Viktor Barth-Kron is a political commentator at Expressen. Listen to his interview with Ulf Kristersson (from 19/9) below!