The objective of the Swedish People’s Party is to achieve its best parliamentary election results ever (in number of votes), winning at least 5 per cent of the vote and being represented in all polling districts. SFP aims to keep its current seats and achieve two further seats.
Finland has many strengths: we are known for our reliability, stable institutions, equality and good schools. But we can do better. We are burdened by rising indebtedness and a labour shortage. For the Swedish People’s Party the roadmap is clear: we must build on our strengths and create solutions for tackling our weaknesses.
– As a liberal, centre-right party, SFP works across the board to achieve a stable, modern Finland that defends the freedom of the individual and every person’s equal value. We say no to hate speech and racism. We don’t stoop to division and polarisation. We want to build society through participation and dialogue.
– We live in economically challenging times, and the elections will play a huge role in determining the direction our country will take in the next four years. The Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have left their marks, not only on our health and wellbeing but also our finances.
– In the last four years, characterised by major crises, SFP has stood for responsibility and stability. Finland will continue to need clear, upright leadership, which SFP is prepared to provide. In the next parliamentary term, SFP shall continue to conduct responsible politics, making decisions for a sustainable future.
Many people are having trouble coping financially, more and more young people are unhappy and the tone of public discourse is becoming increasingly hard-edged. SFP wants Finland to discover a joint belief in the future, and to continue building our existing welfare state. SFP is going into these elections with its manifesto Forward Together.
The following were among the topics specially raised by Henriksson upon the publication of the manifesto.
Employment must reach at least 80 per cent during the next term.
We must reduce bureaucracy and lower the threshold for recruiting a company’s first employee. We must expand the trial on recruitment support for sole traders. Corporation tax must be maintained at a competitive level, and should be lowered for profits that are reinvested in a company’s operations. We want to make the temporary increase in the tax credit for household expenses permanent and to continue developing this tax credit. SFP also wants to reduce taxation on work and pensions in the long term.
Accepting a job must always be profitable.
- We want to allow local bargaining for all types of businesses, even those in non-unionised sectors. SFP wants to scrap the means testing system that currently applies to foreign workers and to see measures for increased, smooth labour migration. The work permit processing period must not exceed 30 days.
Safety close to you
- The resources of the police, the rescue services and emergency response centres must be secured. We must ensure equal access to rescue services all around the country; this means training more rescue personnel. The rescue training that is offered in Swedish in Helsinki must take place at least every three years.
Finland to have the best schools in the world
- We want to see enough teachers and other personnel in schools and early childhood education. Early childhood education must be made free in the long term and we want to implement a two-year preschool period. Student welfare services in schools must be accessible and have sufficient resources. We must educate more Swedish-speaking school psychologists and welfare officers. We want to scrap quotas for first-time applicants to higher education.
Finland as the world’s child-friendliest country
- We want to increase child wellbeing by ensuring every child’s right to at least one hobby. We want to formulate a youth package with cross-sector solutions, to reinstate the wellbeing and mental health of affected young people. Our youth package will include, among others, a therapy guarantee, long-term investments into education and efforts to ensure that no young person is left without a job or study place.
Well-functioning, high-quality care, regardless of place of residence, income or mother tongue
- We want to see the seven-day health care guarantee within primary care and the six-month guarantee within specialist care working in practice. Mental health must become a national priority and care must be available quickly, with a low threshold and in people’s own mother tongue. Our aim is to create a system of named doctors and named nurses for senior citizens and persons with continuous care needs. The personnel crisis in health care must be solved and we need a national programme with diverse measures for addressing the shortage of labour.
We must save the climate and biodiversity now
- We want Finland to be climate neutral by 2035. For this to happen, it is important to continue working on ambitious climate policy nationally, at the EU level, and internationally. Global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Finland must be a constructive member of NATO.
- The responsibility for Finland’s defence lies with us and it is important to maintain and develop our universal conscription, which forms the foundation of our national defence.
