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Swedish budget: Billion-kronor bid to boost healthcare in wake of pandemic

The government has announced plans to inject another seven billion kronor into Swedish healthcare due to the pandemic, as part of its upcoming budget bill.

Published: 6 April 2021 09:35 CEST

Swedish budget: Billion-kronor bid to boost healthcare in wake of pandemic

Sweden's Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson. Photo: Marko Säävälä/TT

Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday morning, joined by her Social Democrat colleague Health Minister Lena Hallengren, and Deputy Finance Minister Åsa Lindhagen of the Green Party.

They said another seven billion kronor (approximately $804 million) would be earmarked for Covid-19 care and other types of healthcare that have been postponed due to the pandemic, as well as purchasing vaccine and carrying out vaccinations.

The money comes in addition to previous cash boosts. For example, two out of the seven billion will go directly to Covid-19 care and postponed healthcare, which means six billion kronor in total will be earmarked for this area in 2021.

Another 1.65 billion kronor will be funnelled into contact tracing by Sweden’s regions and the Public Health Agency, bringing the total budget for this area to 10.5 billion in 2021.

The proposal is part of a series of amendment budgets that have been rolled out in the past year to cope with the financial impact of the pandemic, as well as the government’s annual spring amendment budget, which is set to be presented in full on April 15th.

A number of temporary pandemic measures will in addition be extended, including a decision to scrap Sweden’s first unpaid day of sick leave, and the decision not to require a doctor’s note in the first two weeks of sick leave, to encourage people to stay at home if they fall ill.

These measures will be extended until Sweden’s vaccination target (to offer the Covid-19 vaccine to the entire adult population) has been reached, said the government.

Sweden last week formally abandoned its earlier plan to offer Covid-19 vaccinations to all adults in the first six months of 2021, setting a new target of August 15th and limiting that deadline to first doses only.

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EXPLAINED: What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting

What happened?

Several masked men burst into a Stockholm theatre on Wednesday night and set off smoke bombs during an anti-fascism event, according to police and participants.

Around 50 people were taking part in the event at the Moment theatre in Gubbängen, a southern suburb of the Swedish capital, organised by the Left Party and the Green Party.

“Three people were taken by ambulance to hospital,” the police said on its website, shortly after the attack.

According to Swedish media, one person was physically assaulted and two had paint sprayed in their faces.

“The Nazis attacked visitors using physical violence, with pepper spray, and vandalised the venue before throwing in some kind of smoke grenade which filled the foyer with smoke,” Expo wrote on its website.

The magazine’s head of education Klara Ljungberg was at the event in order to hold a lecture at the invitation of the two political parties.

What was the meeting about?

According to the Left Party’s press officer, the event was “a meeting about growing fascism”.

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar described the event to public broadcaster SVT as an “open event, for equality among individuals”.

As well as Ljungberg from Expo, panelists at the event included anti-fascist activist Mathias Wåg, who also writes for Swedish centre-left tabloid Aftonbladet.

“They were determined and went straight for me,” Wåg told Expo just after the attack. “I received a few blows but nothing that caused serious damage.”

“I was invited to be on a panel in order to discuss anti-fascism with representatives from the Left Party and the Green Party,” he told the magazine. “I didn’t know this was going to happen, but there’s obviously a risk when Expo and I are in the same place.”

What has the reaction been like?

All of Sweden’s parties across the political spectrum have denounced the attack, with Dadgostar describing it as a “threat to our democracy” when TT newswire interviewed her at the theatre a few hours after the attack occurred.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, from the conservative Moderates, called the attack “abhorrent”.

The Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals are currently in government with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, while the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party and Green Party are in opposition.

“It is appalling news that a meeting hosted by the Left Party has been stormed,” Kristersson told TT. “I have reached out to Nooshi Dadgostar and expressed my deepest support. This type of abhorrent action has no place in our free and open society.”

“Right-wing extremists want to scare us into silence,” Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson wrote on X. “They will never be allowed to succeed.”

“The attack by right-wing extremists at a political meeting is a direct attack on our democracy and freedom of speech,” Green Party co-leader Daniel Helldén wrote on X. “My thoughts are with those who were affected this evening.”

Sweden Democrat party leader Jimmie Åkesson wrote in an email to TT that “political violence is terrible, in all its forms, and does not belong in Sweden.”

“All democratic forces must stand in complete solidarity against all kinds of politically motivated violence,” he continued.

His party has previously admitted to being founded by people from “fascist movement” New Swedish Movement, skinheads, and people with “various types of neo-Nazi contact”.

“It is an attack not only on the Left Party, Green Party and the Expo Foundation, but also on our entire democratic society,” Centre Party leader Muharrem Demirok, who referred to the attackers as “Nazis”, wrote on social media. “Those affected have all my support.”

Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch and Liberal leader Johan Pehrson both referred to the attackers as “anti-democratic forces”.

“It is never acceptable for a political meeting to be stormed by anti-democratic forces,” Busch wrote. “There is no place for this in our society.”

“Anti-democratic forces like this represent a serious threat to our democracy and must be met with society’s hardest iron fist,” Pehrson said.

What about the attackers? Has anyone been arrested?

Not yet. The police had not made any arrests at the time of writing on Thursday morning.

According to TT, police did not want to comment on who could be behind the attack.

It is currently being investigated as a violation of the Flammable and Explosive Goods Act, assault, causing danger to others and disturbing public order.

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