There is a lot happening right now, both here in Sweden and in the world around us. War headlines, disaster figures, experts warning, the stock market crashing, mass redundancies, layoffs, closures, the healthcare system is on its knees. And as usual in this country, it is not possible to talk about how one perceives what is happening from one's own heart, in one's own words. But here you are called an alarmist, a conspirator, that you are weak or a coward, spread fake news or spread hatred. It has to end now, we have to start daring to talk to each other for real, without PR consultants, strategists or rehearsed lines, and I intend to do just that, talk in my own words.
I'm no expert, so I can't see into the future how much I'd like it. But things look very bad. In our hospitals around the country right now people are on ventilators and fighting for their lives. Some of us have already had to say a hasty last goodbye to loved ones. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse.
Of course, it is impossible to put into words the anxiety, the despair, the powerlessness and tragedy it means for every single person who is affected. And even if you are not affected yet, the worry is still there, when it happens to me? when it happens my family? I understand that in this powerlessness you try to find easy answers if you look for scapegoats. Why did the messages from the experts change? Why didn't we do anything before? Why weren't we better prepared? I understand that and I agree.
I myself wonder why it was initially said that there was no risk whatsoever of general spread of infection in Sweden. Why was it said that children and young people would not be infected? Why was travel from regions with uncontrolled contagion allowed until the very end? Why did Sweden close entry only when the infection had already taken hold in our country? And it pisses me off that here in Sweden, with our high tax pressure, we still have to worry about whether we get care or not. It pisses me off that our healthcare personnel lack reasonable protective equipment, that our country's preparedness is so neglected that we barely made it a few days before the stocks ran out. But that time to be pissed off, it's not now. We are going through this crisis as a united country, as a nation, as a family. The time will come when we can and must demand responsibility, you can be absolutely sure of that, but right now it's about keeping our country together and working together. This applies to all our citizens, our municipalities, our regions, companies and it applies in particular to us elected politicians.
I am very humbled by the fact that what our social democratic government is trying to deal with today, it is a situation beyond anything that we have previously experienced in modern times. In this situation, I believe that as an opposition politician, you serve the country best by supporting, coming up with ideas and input, rather than challenging. Stefan Löfven, you are not alone in this, we face this crisis as a united country.
I think it is good that restrictions on public events and travel finally came into place in Sweden as well. That schools, at least to some extent, remain closed, that a large part of us try to work from home is also good. Our neighboring countries have gone further, but we are starting to move in the same direction and that is good. I have advocated a more restrictive line than the government and I am aware that this is something that hits extremely hard on our businesses, on their employees and in particular on small businesses.
It will have effects for a long time to come. My attitude has always been that we must prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
First and foremost, we must save lives and do our utmost to ensure that the healthcare system does not collapse from overload. But we must at the same time, with all our might, face the serious consequences that affect companies and jobs.
We must not end up in a situation where too many people fall ill at the same time, because then the healthcare system will not be able to cope and then people will die. We are already being met with heartbreaking stories of postponed vital operations, cancer treatments and I am unfortunately afraid that this is only the beginning. It will likely get worse.
And I have never accepted this notion that the risk of death is high only among the elderly. Just what? Would it be one if our parents and grandparents get seriously ill and die?
I don't see why that would in any way change anything. Now it has also turned out to be our fault, even younger people are affected and need an intensive care unit. Anyone can be affected by this, both old and young. What we have to do now is to save as many lives as possible and there is no alternative to that. But we must also be aware that in the wake of this contagion, Sweden is probably facing the biggest economic crisis in a very, very long time.
It will put us to the test. It will challenge who we are and who we want to be. If we as a society will move towards even more division and unrest, or if we will unite, stick together and start fighting for our common good, as a nation, as a family. I choose the latter and it is because I believe so deeply in our country and our citizens. We may be a small country, but we are a big nation. There are already countless examples of people, organizations and companies that show proof of just that. I am thinking of individual grocers who arrange home deliveries for the elderly. Companies such as Scania, which lend staff to a respirator manufacturer. Ikea, which donates protective equipment to healthcare workers. Landlords lowering rents for shop owners and residents. Individuals who prepare protective equipment for hospitals and health centers. Another example is the Center Party's acting party leader Anders V. Jonsson, who during this time also works as a paediatrician. These are examples of some of the many strengths we have been able to show recently. That's what makes us strong. It's the kind of thing that gives me and the citizens hope. Unfortunately, a number of serious weaknesses have also been discovered. We have become relentlessly aware of how so good our society is. What enormous problems arise if even a simple logistics chain is broken. How there is suddenly a shortage of protective equipment for healthcare workers when Germany chooses to supply its own hospitals instead of sending goods to us.
I fully understand that another country like Germany in this case wants to make sure that its own healthcare staff can protect itself. But what I cannot understand, however, is why we in Sweden think and act so differently. Of course, in a global crisis it sounds extra fine with slogans about international solidarity and appearing as a conscientious role model. But sometimes, and especially in times of crisis, the beautiful words give way to the grim reality. Why haven't we planned for our own provision of such simple but immediately necessary equipment in the event of a crisis? When did we become so unforeseeable, so nonchalant, in the face of the idea that we too can be hit by crises?
A solution was instead that hard-working healthcare personnel were forced to manufacture their own protective equipment and that we then had to ask the EU to force Germany to send protection to Swedish hospitals. Strange and neither particularly safe nor durable for the length. It is something that we must note in very large letters before the financial statements that sooner or later have to be written.
It is possible that in the end the help will come from other countries, but as I said, you have to plan for the worst, even if you naturally hope for the best.
We, as a rich country, a developed welfare country, must of course be able to provide our own healthcare personnel with the protective equipment they need on our own. And for that we need Swedish companies, Swedish industry. It is easy to only consider the Swedish companies as those who fix the jobs and those who ensure that we have money for welfare. But it is also they, the Swedish companies, who in the event of a crisis can ensure that our society receives the necessary goods and equipment. It is the Swedish companies that ultimately make sure that we get food on the table in the event that deliveries from abroad are not available for some reason. The Swedish companies must be saved.
But we are already seeing how people are laid off and notified at an alarming rate. It looks like we are headed for extreme unemployment. We already have business owners in tears desperately asking for help for the survival of their business and so it is my belief that we must act now and we must act very forcefully. Every penny we spend now will pay off when this steel bath is finally over. And I think that so far the government has by and large acted in the right direction and we have supported them in their actions. But so much more is needed. And the crisis package for companies gives some strange signals. Companies are offered loans at high interest rates. At the same time, cultural workers are given a billion that they do not have to pay back. What a small business that has just lost perhaps 80 percent of its revenue needs is not primarily a loan at a high interest rate. You need direct support to cover salaries, rents and other current and fixed costs. What the state needs to show the companies and the wage earners is that they mean business. Because it's serious now, we need to show that we are prepared to make powerful, long-term decisions that really help Swedish companies. And it will require exceptional measures and it will cost. But we as a country have an opportunity in that. Sweden has muscles.
Our relatively low debt ratio enables us to release the necessary financing. It is about much larger sums than those that have been put forward by the government so far. Swedish business recently demanded investments of 4 percent of GDP, equivalent to approximately SEK 200 billion. I dare to claim that we need to go even further, 500 perhaps up to 1000 billion Swedish kronor. This would mean that we basically double the national debt, but in this situation I see no alternatives. Repayment could, for example, be made possible by a sharp reduction in Swedish aid. Because in a situation where we are facing our country's worst economic crisis in modern times, we cannot give away 120 million kroner a day. So almost SEK 50 billion each year to other countries. Because that money is needed here and now. Both companies and employees need support directly and indirectly. We must ensure that fundamentally viable companies are saved from collapse. And we must ensure that the people who are now forced to go home from their jobs have workplaces to return to when this difficult time is over. And we must make sure that no one has to go hungry in the meantime.
The companies' costs must be greatly reduced so that we are not forced to witness a mass death in Swedish business life. Whole industries will be knocked out for a long time to come. Support for rents, salaries and other costs that do not disappear just because the country shuts down and people stay at home. Where the system of short-term jobs or layoffs is to be strengthened, the state must take a much larger part of the cost. Corporate taxes and fees must be reduced. For example, we are prepared to support proposals to temporarily completely remove employment taxes. We must guarantee that companies in crisis can borrow money at low costs, significantly lower than the interest on the credits that the government has promised so far. Above all, we must review the possibility of giving direct cash support to companies that have now in a very short time lost basically all of their turnover.
Around the world, similar comprehensive rescue packages are now being launched. There are many ideas and suggestions that I really believe would make a big difference. In Sweden, we have unfortunately been cautious about taking action, but it is now time to wake up, to pick up the pace, to put things into action. Every day of the week I am prepared to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss what we can do to save the Swedish economy. And I am prepared to support the government in everything they do well in this crisis. But I'm also determined to put pressure on them when they don't do enough. That is my responsibility as an opposition politician. My responsibility as an individual citizen and fellow human being, and it applies to all of us, is to keep myself updated on what is happening, to follow the advice and guidelines that are given, to make it easier for healthcare staff and emergency services, to help elderly relatives with, for example, shopping, to be sensitive to others, to show consideration, to talk to and support people in my vicinity.
I'm worried, I'm really worried. But still, I am hopeful. We will get through this. It is a serious situation, but our country has faced difficult trials for, and we have passed it. It will be tough, it will be a struggle, but we will make it. It will take sacrifices, but we will get through this together, together as a nation, together as a family. Take care.
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