Expensive petrol and electricity create a new situation in the climate debate

The situation in Sweden is not unique.

A similar debate is taking place in large parts of Europe.

Governments in several countries have tried to mitigate popular protests against sharp increases in electricity and fuel prices with tax cuts, price regulation or direct support to households.

All ruling politicians fear a protest movement such as the "yellow vests", which paralyzed parts of France in 2018 after President Macron's attempt to raise the petrol tax.

The Swedish government is also concerned about the protests that can arise when high fuel prices dig deep holes in voters' wallets, either directly at the pump or because the price of other goods rises due to increased transport costs.

The struggle for the electorate is clearly visible

The craze for rural voters also comes into play.

Voters in rural areas, who need the car in their daily lives, can be of great importance when the votes are counted on 11 September.

Recently, it has become clear that several parties are reorienting themselves on these issues, at the intersection of climate and energy.

While some parties act to attract new voters, others try to ward off the risk of voter loss.

No matter what, it is clear how politics is making a comeback so as not to end up too far from the voters in an issue that could be significant in the election.

Measures that were previously politically impossible for progressive Swedish parties, which wanted to take the lead in climate change, are suddenly no longer as impossible.

The parties' new proposals

One such example is the petrol tax, where all parties in the Riksdag, except the Green Party, now agree on a reduction.

Another issue is the so-called reduction obligation, which means that biofuels are mixed with petrol and diesel.

It has also been pointed out as an important part of the ambition to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

But even here new tones are heard.

Parties with such different foundations in climate policy as the Sweden Democrats and the Left Party both want to reduce the obligation to reduce fuel prices.

The Social Democrats advocate increased travel deductions to compensate motorists that way, while the Green Party proposes reduced taxes in rural areas.

The common denominator is that almost all parties now present different proposals on this issue in order to limit the effects of a policy they themselves have voted for in the Riksdag.

In the same way, the parties agree that consumers should be compensated for the winter's record high electricity prices.

No longer the individual's responsibility

The rhetoric around the climate issue has also changed.

Not so long ago, much of the debate was about the individual's responsibility, with a focus on the individual's actions, such as driving a car, flying and eating meat.

That is no longer the case and one party that has changed strategy here is the Left Party.

It is not the individual's responsibility to save the climate, says Nooshi Dadgostar.

Instead, the message is that politicians and the state must fix climate change with infrastructure investments and investments in business.

Similar tones are heard from Magdalena Andersson, who always weaves climate change with industrial investments and new jobs in her message.

Behind this turnaround, both in terms of fuel prices and climate policy rhetoric, is the parties' analysis that a growing concern among voters for their own economy and purchasing power may be significant in the upcoming election campaign, not least for the rural voters the parties are now fighting.