Analysis: "Opposition pushes for more crisis measures - new package on the way"

As the opposition now presents its alternatives to the government's crisis policy, two clear main issues emerge. One is the issue of more direct aid to crisis-hit companies, the other is the issue of more resources for municipalities and regions.

The Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Swedish Democrats are all pushing for extensive turnover support for companies hit hard by the corona crisis. The idea is for the state to step in and compensate companies that have lost a large part of their turnover due to the crisis.

How much this will cost the state is unclear as it depends on how such a system is designed. But the Christian Democrats have estimated in their economic motion that their proposal for sales support will land at SEK 80 billion.

The three opposition parties to the right in Swedish politics also want to see further reductions or completely abolition of employer contributions for a limited period. This, too, would be costly for the state. The Swedish Democrats estimate that an abolition of employer contributions for three months would cost SEK 120 billion in addition to the reduction that the government has already implemented.

The Moderates also want fully eliminated employer fees, extensive direct support to companies and the possibility of full-time leave in crisis-hit companies. The cost of this is estimated by the Moderates at SEK 100 billion a month.

The opposition takes small risks in demanding extensive efforts, a government is responsible for keeping the economy together and for the measures that are implemented can also be defended afterwards. Therefore, it is naturally natural that the opposition is pushing for more comprehensive crisis measures in the state in which we are now.

However, there are many indications that the Social Democrats will accept some form of turnover support for crisis-hit companies. The issue is being driven by the two Center Party and Liberal partners, which require just such efforts.

In addition, economic developments now appear to be deteriorating further. With a fall in GDP of 7-8 per cent this year and an unemployment rate of over 10 per cent, there will be no problems to justify further crisis packages.

The issue was also up in Parliament's Finance Committee on Wednesday morning, but did not lead to any sharp decision. The government and the cooperation parties are currently in the final stages of a negotiation of a new crisis package, which will be presented shortly.

However, the extent of sales support in this package is unclear. The Social Democrats have tried to resist, among other things, the argument that it may be unwise to already incur excessive costs. The crisis can be protracted and require considerable efforts even later. Then there should be an economic space for this, for example, says Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson. This type of direct support is also not very easy to design. It can be difficult to judge both which companies are entitled to the aid and by how much.

Another issue where the government is under pressure from the Riksdag is the state subsidies to municipalities and regions. Here the government was run over by the opposition as late as January this year and when the shadow budgets.

When the opposition presented its shadow budgets in Parliament, it is also clear that there is support for more money than the government has allocated to municipalities and regions.

In the spring budget, the government proposed an increase in general government grants of SEK 15 billion, which is intended to compensate municipalities and regions for reduced tax revenues as a result of the corona crisis.

The other parliamentary parties want to go further and talk about further increases of between SEK 5 and 10 billion. It is likely that the Left Party in its spring budget motion, which will be presented tomorrow, will go even further.

What the government side is responding to is still unclear. Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson has said that she is prepared to give more money to municipalities and regions if needed, and that the state should bear all the extra costs associated with the corona crisis. However, whether the opposition is content with these messages is another story.