It's time for another general election!
Will the right-wing parties' grand experiment, their decision to rule with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, pay off? That's the big question for September 13th, when Sweden holds its general election.
The three government parties, the Moderates, Christian Democrats, and Liberals, together with their far-right support party the Sweden Democrats, will be hoping that by throwing money at the electorate with an expansive pre-election budget, completing their program of tightening migration rules and cracking down on crime, they can win a second term. They may even manage to show some progress on new nuclear.
The opposition parties, meanwhile, will be hoping that voters will remember the last four years for high unemployment, low growth, and increases to the cost of living, while also baulking at the prospect of Sweden Democrat ministers in government.
At this stage, it looks like the opposition parties could be starting the election year at least five percentage points ahead – assuming that is, that the Centre Party does not switch sides and rejoin the right-wing bloc.
The Liberal Party is currently on track to miss the four percent threshold to enter parliament, and the Christian Democrats and Centre Party also in the risk zone.
As it's an election year, the Almedalen political festival on the island of Gotland, scheduled to run from June 22nd to June 26th, is likely to be particularly charged.
Melodifestivalen and Eurovision
The 66th edition of Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s Eurovision trials, will kick off on January 31st for five weeks of music, entertainment and fun – or a lifetime of earworms and wondering why you ever moved to Sweden.
The final takes place on March 7th at Stockholm's Strawberry Arena. The lucky winner will go to Vienna on May 12th for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the final held on May 16th.
Tax cuts
From January 1st, the government is raising the earned income tax credit or jobbskatteavdrag, lowering tax for salaried workers and pensioners and lowering the tax on sick pay.
The additional jobbskatteavdrag will shave about 431 kronor a month off the tax bill of someone earning 42,000 a month, and about 152 kronor a month off the tax bill of someone earning 25,000 a month.
It will also cut electricity tax on January 1st, which will reduce the total tax paid by about 20 percent, saving 1,000 kronor a year for the average house which is not heated by electricity.
Savers also stand to benefit from the doubling of the tax free allowance for an ISK savings account from 150,000 to 300,000 kronor, which also comes in from New Year's Day.
From April 1st, the government will halve VAT on food, which the government estimates will cut the cost of feeding the average two-child family by 6,500 kronor.
Lower fees for childcare and after-school activities
The government is changing the salary at which parents have to pay the "maximum fee" or maxtaxa, which currently means that the full fee is only paid by families with a combined income of 59,440 kronor or more. The government estimates that this cut in fees for nursery schools, or förskolor, and for after-school activities in schools will save families earning above the threshold 375 kronor.
New pension system
Sweden's new pension system, which is based around a riktålder or "target age", rather than a hard retirement age, comes into force fully in 2026 at the same time as the target age is raised from 65 to 66 (it rose from 64 to 65 in 2023).
The new system will see the riktålder adjusted according to how long people in Sweden are expected to live on average, to prevent pensions becoming lower as life expectancy increases.
The riktålder is not a mandatory retirement age, but affects the age at which you can withdraw your income pension and premium pension (three years before riktålder), and when you can become eligible for the guarantee pension and housing supplement (riktålder for your age group).
Re-emigration grants come in
From January 1st, foreign citizens living in Sweden who choose to return to their home countries will be eligible for grants of 350,000 kronor, increasing the current grant by 3,400 percent.
Under the new proposal, families would get a maximum of 600,000 kronor and under-age children 25,000 kronor.
The scheme is only available to refugees, quota refugees, people in need of subsidiary protection, people with residence on the grounds of exceptionally distressing circumstances, or family of these groups.
Stricter rules for citizenship
On June 1st, if a planned bill is passed by parliament, the time foreigners need to live in Sweden to be eligible for citizenship will be increased from 5 years to 8 years for most foreigners. The rules on having a hederligt levnadssätt, essentially having an upstanding way of life, will also be tightened. The government is also expected to increase the amount applicants need to earn from their job or own business.
Applicants who have received more than six months’ worth of försörjningsstöd or "subsistence allowance", formerly known as socialbidrag, within the past three years will also not be eligible for citizenship.
At the time of publication this law has yet to be presented to or voted through parliament.
Permanent residency abolished for most migrants
The government has proposed changes to the Aliens Act which will mean that, from June 12th, refugees, other persons granted residency because they need protection, and some other categories of foreigner will no longer be receive permanent residency, no matter how long they have been living in Sweden.
Instead they will be eligible for temporary residency, followed by Long Term Residence under EU law, after which they will be able to apply for citizenship.
At the time of publication this law has yet to be presented to or voted through parliament.
Work permit threshold hiked to 90 percent of median salary
From June 1st, the government aims to increase the salary threshold for a work permit to 90 percent of the Swedish median, or 33,390 kronor a month. As Statistics Sweden publishes its annual salary statistics in mid June, the threshold is likely to increase yet again within a fortnight of coming into force.
New law on payments for people living near wind turbines
Proponents of renewable energy have long criticised the government for doing nothing to increase incentives for municipalities to host wind farms on their territories. A new law, which is expected to come into force on July 1st, 2026, will give financial compensation to anyone living close to a turbine.
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