‘Want clarity’: Swedish government plans to survey immigrants’ ‘values’

The Swedish government plans to map the values of immigrants arriving in the country yearly at a cost of 2 million kronor, in order to see whether they differ from ‘liberal democratic ideals’.

“In Sweden, we’re proud of women’s rights. And our view on gay people. There’s been a struggle [for these rights], and now we’re seeing tendencies towards forces that oppose them. We need to get an image of what the situation looks like in reality,” he told the newspaper, while adding that there are “sharp tendencies towards Islamist forces”.
“Could we hold a Pride parade in our suburbs today? Would that be accepted?” he asked.

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The government has already put aside 2 million kronor to fund the survey, under a post in the budget titled “better monitoring of integration”.
“As a matter of principle, the government is pursuing a policy where we want clarity on what the situation is, when it comes to values. In Sweden, men and women shake hands. That’s a basic norm that we have in Swedish society. You’re expected to live up to that standard,” Persson said.
It’s not yet clear exactly how the government is planning to carry out the survey, or which authority would be responsible for it, but he confirmed to Aftonbladet that the idea is that it will be carried out on a yearly basis, starting next year.

READ ALSO: How will Sweden’s new budget affect foreign residents?

“It will of course be anonymised,” he said, adding that answers will not be able to be traced back to specific people. “We don’t register people’s beliefs in Sweden.”
“But what about the people who are coming to Sweden? What are their views like? What are their views and attitudes to culture? The role of religion? Equality? Of course, it’s very important to get an overview of that.”

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It’s not clear exactly what the government plans to do with the results of the survey once it has been carried out, either. Persson did not want to rule out measures such as information campaigns, for example.
“I can’t rule that out, but I think the most important thing is that all levels of the state and all levels of society are very clear on this,” he told Aftonbladet.
The new budget has set aside a total of 196 million kronor on increased integration efforts, including three-year intensive courses for children who do not speak any Swedish at home and extra money for after-school fritids clubs to provide Swedish classes for children with foreign backgrounds.
Around 31 million kronor would go towards assisting integration for foreigners who are stay-at-home parents, especially women, in order to assist them in finding work. This would include language lessons, as well as study and career advice for refugees in particular, as well as other women born abroad.
Another 4 million kronor of the 196 million kronor total would go towards mapping foreigners’ Swedish skills – reading, writing and listening – in order to understand which integration measures would be useful.
Finally, 40 million kronor would go towards language courses for certain key workers, like staff in elderly care homes and preschools, a policy which was originally introduced by the former government in 2021. This would last until 2026.
What do you think of the plans? Fill out The Local’s survey to have your say.

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Comments (9)

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Jeremiah

2024/10/16 19:49

I have some clarifying questions. Does “liberal democratic values” mean the decades stagnated understanding of race and ethnicity? Does it mean Sverigedemokraterna voters’ feelings against GRSM equality, especially for transgender people? Does it mean Kristdemokraterna voters’ feelings opposing women’s productive rights?

2024/10/16 12:51

What will the government do with this clarity? That is a more important question to be answered.
The survey is fine, but tell us what you will do with those results!

Eric

2024/10/11 21:37

Maybe they ought to send the survey to members of the party that props up their government. 🤷‍♂️

H Kumar

2024/10/11 17:55

As an immigrant, I 100% support this. Would be effective though only if it translates to actions and not just insights and plans

Kalle

2024/10/11 17:18

This will just be used in hate campaigns in the future. No real value will come of it!

Confused

2024/10/11 16:54

How to make sure people are not lying and just saying what the government hopes to hear?

cherry

2024/10/11 13:22

Genuinely a good idea! Those who move to sweden need to align with its liberal value system

2024/10/11 13:13

Religion or culture is never an excuse for treating women and LBGT individuals poorly. While I do feel this might be government going too far, I agree in spirit

Kourosh

2024/10/11 10:52

excellent!! finally someone started to do something about it!

See Also

“The measures needed will be determined by how large the problem turns out to be,” Employment and Integration Minister Mats Persson, from the Liberals, told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet.
The goal of the new investigation is to find out to what extent immigrants’ values match or deviate from what Persson calls “liberal democratic values”.
“In Sweden, we’re proud of women’s rights. And our view on gay people. There’s been a struggle [for these rights], and now we’re seeing tendencies towards forces that oppose them. We need to get an image of what the situation looks like in reality,” he told the newspaper, while adding that there are “sharp tendencies towards Islamist forces”.
“Could we hold a Pride parade in our suburbs today? Would that be accepted?” he asked.
The government has already put aside 2 million kronor to fund the survey, under a post in the budget titled “better monitoring of integration”.
“As a matter of principle, the government is pursuing a policy where we want clarity on what the situation is, when it comes to values. In Sweden, men and women shake hands. That’s a basic norm that we have in Swedish society. You’re expected to live up to that standard,” Persson said.
It’s not yet clear exactly how the government is planning to carry out the survey, or which authority would be responsible for it, but he confirmed to Aftonbladet that the idea is that it will be carried out on a yearly basis, starting next year.
“It will of course be anonymised,” he said, adding that answers will not be able to be traced back to specific people. “We don’t register people’s beliefs in Sweden.”
“But what about the people who are coming to Sweden? What are their views like? What are their views and attitudes to culture? The role of religion? Equality? Of course, it’s very important to get an overview of that.”
It’s not clear exactly what the government plans to do with the results of the survey once it has been carried out, either. Persson did not want to rule out measures such as information campaigns, for example.
“I can’t rule that out, but I think the most important thing is that all levels of the state and all levels of society are very clear on this,” he told Aftonbladet.
The new budget has set aside a total of 196 million kronor on increased integration efforts, including three-year intensive courses for children who do not speak any Swedish at home and extra money for after-school fritids clubs to provide Swedish classes for children with foreign backgrounds.
Around 31 million kronor would go towards assisting integration for foreigners who are stay-at-home parents, especially women, in order to assist them in finding work. This would include language lessons, as well as study and career advice for refugees in particular, as well as other women born abroad.
Another 4 million kronor of the 196 million kronor total would go towards mapping foreigners’ Swedish skills – reading, writing and listening – in order to understand which integration measures would be useful.
Finally, 40 million kronor would go towards language courses for certain key workers, like staff in elderly care homes and preschools, a policy which was originally introduced by the former government in 2021. This would last until 2026.
What do you think of the plans? Fill out The Local’s survey to have your say.

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