Government declaration - hoping to speed up reforms and invest in the future
The Prime Minister shows the government's ambitions for an innovative and technology-leading Sweden, which we hope will permeate the government's work in the future.
"Now the second half of the mandate begins. And policy is entering a partly new phase. Once inflation has been defeated, the government's economic policy will focus on future investments and growth reforms."
This is what Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in the government statement presented yesterday. "It sends a positive message and we hope that it will set the tone for the reforms that the government will make during the second half of its term of office.
In the government declaration, the Prime Minister outlines the government's ambitions for an innovative and technology-leading Sweden. Already announced investments in research and other areas also point in that direction. However, we are still waiting for more concrete proposals on digitalization. More measures are needed for Sweden to be a leading technology nation.
The 40-minute government statement naturally contained many different elements. As expected, the sections on crime, the security situation and winning the fight against inflation took up a lot of space.
The government already presented last week an increase in the research budget, better conditions for foreign experts and strengthened work on talent attraction in 2025, which TechSverige welcomes. The need to strengthen Sweden as an attractive technology nation is great and something we have raised in our dialogues with the government.
The Prime Minister also mentioned the importance of transforming studies into concrete proposals and reforms that have an impact. Tomorrow's growth will be secured through an innovative business sector, a good business climate and by being an attractive country for highly skilled workers and researchers.
According to TechSverige, strengthening cooperation between business and the public sector is an important factor that needs to be developed, something that the Prime Minister emphasized when he said that "the government wants to see more of TeamSweden". We look forward to contributing to this work.
The government declaration also emphasized the importance of new technology in the climate transition. The link between digitalization and sustainable development has been expressed by TechSverige in our input to the government's climate policy action plan. The tools offered by the tech industry enable a green and sustainable transition.
In the Government Statement, the Prime Minister mentions several important bills to be presented during the fall and winter, including the Research and Innovation Bill and the AI Commission, which will present proposals for action. Areas where TechSverige has provided input.
The Prime Minister said that schools should go back to basics and that we should move from screen to book. Being able to read and count are important foundations for life and for further studies. At the same time, we see a growing need for a workforce in tech and about 18,000 specialists in tech will be needed annually between 2024 and 2028. We believe that schools have a responsibility to equip students for the future, where digital literacy and digital skills will be absolutely necessary. TechSverige wants to see a responsible development of digitization in schools, among other things by moving forward with the national digitization strategy for schools.
Christina Ramm-Ericson, Head of Industrial Policy and Chief Economist, TechSverigeTechSverige wants to see a responsible development of digitalization in schools
In summary, there were several promising messages in the government statement and areas where TechSverige has highlighted the importance of government action. It is positive that the focus has been shifted from fighting inflation to a focus including reforms for increased growth and productivity. We now need more concrete proposals and reforms that create the conditions for innovation and world-class growth. We hope that the Prime Minister is serious about Sweden being at the forefront and competing above our weight class and that this will permeate the government's work going forward.
On Thursday, September 19, the budget bill will be submitted to the Riksdag, where the government will specify its investments and cuts.