The Riksdag has voted to overthrow the government. The Liberals say that the January agreement thus expires. Now new presidential rounds or by-elections await, under very unclear conditions. How are students, student unions and higher education institutions affected by the new situation? In this blog, we comment on the current situation.
Background
Yesterday (Monday 21/6) the Riksdag voted for a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Stefan Löfven. This after the Left Party demanded that the government withdraw point 44 in the January agreement, which was about free rent in new production. The mistrust means that the Prime Minister has one week to either call by-elections or turn to the Speaker for new rounds of Speakers. In both scenarios, ie until the by-election or as long as the presidential rounds are ongoing, the government remains in that form in the form of a transitional government. The practice is that the transitional government limits its work to what is necessary to administer the kingdom.
Ongoing legislative work and most other political processes thus stop until a new government can take office.
The January agreement and higher education
Regardless of how the situation now develops, it seems that the January agreement has largely lost its validity, something that affects the students and higher education on several points.
Not long after the no-confidence vote took place, the Liberals announced that the January agreement was no longer valid. Although a new government is not dependent on the votes of the Liberals, it could take office with votes from the Social Democrats, the Center Party, the Left Party and the Green Party. However, the Center Party has previously said that their support for the January agreement has depended on the Liberals' support. The Left Party has only partially accepted the January agreement and it is their criticism of clause 44 of the January agreement that has now led to the overthrow of the government. This means that the conditions for forming a new government based on the January agreement look difficult.
If the January agreement falls, it will have consequences for several ongoing reforms:
Reform of teacher education
Point 56 of the January agreement is about reforming teacher education, through increased requirements, more teacher-led hours and shortened supplementary pedagogical education. It is above all the Liberals who have been the driving force behind the focus of the reform. A number of proposals were presented in the inquiry Increased quality in teacher education and more teachers in the school which was out for consultation until 15 April 2021. Many in the higher education sector were critical of several of the proposals. Without the support of the Liberals in the January Agreement, it is unlikely that this reform will succeed.
Adjustment study support
Some of the points in the January agreement were about a reform of the labor market, which included changing the Employment Security Act (LAS) and strengthening support for adjustment and further education. Together with market rents, the point about LAS was one of the Left Party's red lines, but after an investigation was presented, the government had the social partners negotiate their own solution. PTK * (SACO and TCO) and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise agreed on a solution that even some LO unions later joined. One component of the agreement was to introduce a new "adjustment study support" for professionals. In order to realize the parties' proposals, the government promised to introduce a public study fund for conversion. This is out for consultation until 15 September. The inquiry estimated that this would lead to between 10 and 000 more students. To introduce the new study grant requires a majority in the Riksdag and without the January agreement, it is therefore unclear whether the proposal can be implemented. However, there is relatively broad support in the Riksdag, so there is a possibility that it will still be implemented.
Free rent in new production
Last but not least, the proposal that everything fell on affects: Free rent in new production, which is therefore point 44 of the January Agreement. SFS's assessment has been that it would lead to higher rents for many students: Just like ordinary tenancies, newly built student housing would be affected by the proposal if they are not built with investment support, and in addition 29% of all students live in ordinary tenancies. There are many indications that the Social Democrats and the Green Party are actually opposed to the proposal being implemented, without the point in the January agreement being a demand from the Center Party and the Liberals. The Sweden Democrats and the Left Party are also against the proposal, which means that it does not have a majority in the Riksdag. The proposal will probably not be pushed through, at least not this term.
Other processes
One point in the January agreement that is not affected by the current situation, however, concerns the increased age limit for the right to study grants. This was included as item 14 in the January agreement, but the Riksdag voted through new rules on 26 May 2021. The reform has thus already been implemented and will in all probability remain so.
An issue that is more unclear concerns point 23, which, among other things, addresses increased access to higher education throughout the country and strengthened opportunities for distance education. The government has invested SEK 25 million in the state budget in this and it is unclear whether there are plans to do more in this area.
The investment support for the construction of rental apartments is also included in the January agreement, but it is unclear exactly how it will affect students. The January agreement states that the investment support will be converted. This reform may not be forthcoming. However, it is unclear how the reform would affect the construction of student housing.
Pandemic measures with a transitional government?
A transitional government will be able to take the necessary measures to deal with the pandemic and carry out a responsible return to campus studies.
The practice is that a transitional government does not implement reforms but only manages the state's affairs until a new government can take office. However, the ongoing pandemic has consequences for what this means. New pandemic measures may be justified that go further than would be appropriate for a transitional government to implement in other circumstances.
The pandemic measures taken so far have been relatively extensive. This has involved support for short-term layoffs, support for companies, abolished qualifying period deductions and changed levels in the unemployment insurance fund. For the university, it is not least about the government having decided on more study places and completely new routines for conducting the university entrance examination.
There are no formal obstacles to what a transitional government may present to the Riksdag in terms of reforms and new legislation. The accepted restriction is only a matter of practice. Pandemic measures can probably be implemented by the transitional government, although they can be quite extensive.
SFS continues to monitor the situation and how the situation may affect higher education and Sweden's students.
Simon Edström, Chairman
Linn Svärd, Vice Chairman
* PTK is a bargaining and cooperation council that negotiates collective agreements and trains on behalf of 25 unions. They work for privately employed civil servants (TCO and SACO)