This year's Budget Bill, presented today, is a product negotiated between the Social Democrats, the Environment Party, the Center Party and the Liberals. Much of the content was agreed between the parties as early as January when the so-called January agreement was negotiated. Another has been added during the recent budget negotiations.

For the Social Democrats, the most important thing has been to obtain support in the Riksdag for a continued government holding. The party has therefore had to pay a high non-political price to the Center Party and the Liberals. And this is evident in the budget that is now presented. The single largest item is the abolished tax on taxes, a tax that only those with the highest incomes in society pay.

Suffering in the S-soul

Of course, this is stinging in the social democratic soul, but is the price Stefan Löfven has to pay to remain as prime minister.

However, he runs the risk of being criticized for the fall budget widening the economic gaps in the country, between those who earn a lot, and those who earn a little. The Social Democrats' political message throughout the years has been to reduce the gaps. If the effect of this autumn's budget becomes widening gaps, it will not be easy for Stefan Löfven to sell the policy into his own ranks.

Although the Social Democrats have received investments in, among other things, labor market policy, reduced taxation for pensioners and more money for the municipalities, these symbolic successes are symbolically less valuable than the profits of the Center Party and the Liberals.

Success for C and L

Instead, the Center Party appears to be the single biggest winner in the budget bill. The party has received a number of substantive policy proposals. These include, for example, reduced employers' fees for companies that employ newcomers and young people, reduced rural taxation in northern and western Sweden and further investments in children and adolescent psychiatry. In all these matters, party leader Annie Lööf has profiled strongly. The privatization of the Employment Service is another matter of political gain for the Center Party and Annie Lööf.

The Liberals' success is also great. The party has for a long time been pushing for an abolition of the defense tax. This was not the case during all years of bourgeois government holding, but Stefan Löfven was prepared to meet the Liberals on this point.

Another negotiating success that the Liberals and Nyamko Sabuni gladly refer to is the focus on the judiciary. Sure, this is a success for the Liberals, but the money had probably been put in anyway. Problems in the criminal justice system and the judicial system have grown sharply in recent years as a consequence of the increasingly serious violence in society.

The environmental party is happy to talk about the climate and environmental policy initiatives the party has received. The new variant of the holiday year, development time, is also a success for MP. This means that an employee can take time off from work to continue his or her education or start a company, until an unemployed person gets the job.

Increased focus on rural areas

Rural issues, what is usually called the urban-land conflict, have gained political importance in recent years. The issue is one of those polarizing the Swedish political debate. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has tried to make a clear profile on these issues, including through regular trips in the countryside.

But the government constellation has shown that it is not very easy to keep a consistent line on these issues. The petrol tax is one such example where the government succeeds in the art of both raising and lowering the tax to keep everyone in the government base in a good mood.

However, no greater significance in the short-term perspective does not teach this maneuver. The drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities have quickly pushed up the world market price of oil, which has also led to sharp price increases here in Sweden as well.

And if there is something that usually irritates the population in the countryside, it is precisely the price increases for gasoline and diesel.