S and SD agree: Let the whole of Gothenburg be excluded from the ebo-law

The Ebo Act came under the Carl Bildt government in the 1990s and gives asylum seekers the right to settle wherever they want, while still receiving financial support. The law has been criticized from various directions since then, among other things, for its contribution to increasing segregation.

At the end of last year, however, the law was amended, which meant that a number of municipalities in the country - which had high pressure from asylum seekers - had the opportunity to choose areas in the municipality that should be exempt from the Ebo.

In both Malmö and Helsingborg, the leaders agreed in January that they wanted the entire cities to be exempted from the law - not just certain areas. Now the same requirements are also set in Gothenburg.

On Monday, Jörgen Fogelklou (SD) announced his motion to the City Council where he is demanding that the whole of Gothenburg be excluded from the ebo-law. On Tuesday, the Social Democrats, via a debate article in Aftonbladet, announce that they too want the same thing.

- I can only say that this is not a new issue for us. Our starting point is that we are against ebo as a principle, and that is nothing new. We have always been critical of the ebo-law because it does not contribute to integration. However, we have not seen such an opportunity before, and now this opportunity is being given. says Jonas Attenius (S), opposition council in Gothenburg, to SVT News West.

When asked how he reasoned about the Social Democrats and the Swedish Democrats being on the same line in the question, he replies that it is not something he reflects on.

However, Jörgen Fogelklou (SD) believes that his exercise was a tactical move just to get other parties to take the initiative.

- If I had filed this case with the Ebo in the municipal council, they would have closed it in principle. Therefore, I put a motion to the city council instead, to put pressure on the others that they can now place a claim on the municipal council and lie before me. For my motion will come up in the municipal council only in four to five months. So this is a way for me to put pressure, says Jörgen Fogelklou (SD).

The Social Democrats will soon be presenting a proposal to the local government, says Jonas Attenius (S). When this happens, it will not be the first time SD votes for an S-proposal.

- If this proposal is similar to something we have previously put forward, we will support this. I am sitting here to drive good politics for us in Gothenburg, and then it is irrelevant whether the proposal comes from the left or the right, says Fogelklou (SD).

But not all Gothenburg parties are included in S and SD's notes when it comes to the ebo-law. Last week, Axel Josefson (M), chairman of the municipal council, announced that the moderates only wanted certain areas of the city to be exempted from the ebo law. To the GP he says:

- I see this as a desperate measure on the part of the Social Democrats, where they both reject their past policies and the government's current policies.