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BUDGET

Public bailouts cause Sweden’s deficit to swell

Sweden’s National Debt Office (Riksgälden) said on Wednesday it expects the country’s budget deficit to balloon to 135 billion kronor ($14.7 billion) in 2009, just one year after posting a 135 billion kronor surplus.

Published: 5 March 2009 08:37 CET

That number is almost six times the previous forecast from November, owing to various state aid packages to combat the current economic slowdown.

For 2010, the budget deficit is expected to shrink back to 65 billion kronor, the debt office said.

In November, it had forecast deficits of 23 billion in 2009 and 35 billion in 2010, after several years of healthy budget surpluses.

“The deterioration in central government finances is mainly due to the lending and other support measures such as the capital contribution programme for banks, lower tax income and the fact that there will be no income from sales of state assets,” the debt office said.

It added that it expected the Swedish economy to contract by 2.0 percent in 2009 before bouncing back to see growth of 2.0 percent in 2010.

ECONOMY

Sweden boosts spending on civil defence in spring budget

Sweden is to channel a further 800 million kronor to local government and other organisations to bolster Sweden's civil defence capabilities, the country's finance minister has announced.

Published: 19 April 2022 09:11 CEST
Sweden boosts spending on civil defence in spring budget

The new funding, which will go to municipalities, regional government, and other organisations, was announced of part of the country’s spring budget, announced on Tuesday. 

“This will strengthen our ability to resist in both war and peace,” Sweden’s finance minister, Mikael Damberg, said in a press conference. “If the worst happens, it’s important that there is physical protection for the population.” 

The government is channelling 91m kronor towards renovating Sweden’s 65,000 bomb shelters, and will also fund the repair the country’s network of emergency sirens, known as Hesa Fredrik, or Hoarse Fredrik, many of which are currently out of order. 

A bomb shelter in Stockholm. Sweden’s government is spending 800m kronor in its spring budget to boost civil defence. Photo: Anders Wiklund/ TT

Sweden’s Social Democrats are currently ruling on the alternative budget put together by the right-wing opposition, making this spring budget, which makes changes to the autumn budget, unusually important. 

The budget includes extra spending of some 31.4 billion kronor (€299m), with 500m kronor going to extra spending on healthcare,  and 10.3 billion kronor going towards supporting Ukrainian refugees, of which nine billion will come from the aid budget. 

The spring budget also includes the so called “pension guarantee bonus”, or garantitillägg, which will see four billion kronor (€390m) going to those with the lowest pensions. 

The bonus, which was the price the Left Party demanded for letting Magdalena Andersson take her place as prime minister, risks being voted down by the right-wing parties in the parliament. 

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