Speech by Jan Björklund Almedalen

July 5, 2014



My grandmother Emma Charlotta was born in 1886. It was 35 years before women had the right to vote.

Women were not allowed to study at colleges or universities.

Women could be dismissed due to pregnancy, childbirth or marriage.

Grandma Emma gave birth to her eldest son, my father, at a time when moms did not become guardians of their own children.

Writer and later Liberal politician Selma Lagerlof Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909. Sweden handed out the Nobel Prize for women, but not ballots.

My grandmother came in their lifetime to experience a gender political revolution. Liberals like Elin Wagner paved the way for the franchise. It was the Liberal prime minister Nils Edén that finally pushed through it. More government services were opened up to women. She saw the Liberal Education Minister John Almkvist open high schools in Sweden for girls.

It was the Liberals who Cecilia Nettelbrandt and Ingrid Gärde Widemar who drove off the joint taxation, and the liberals in the 70s drove the expansion in childcare facilities. There were the two most important reforms that young women would take the step into the workplace. It was Bengt Westerberg, who drove the first paternity month. Nyamko Sabuni, led a fight against honor violence and oppression. Maria Arnholm and Birgitta Ohlsson is today two senior politicians who runs the liberal feminism.

Liberals has feminist initiative for more than hundred years. And we intend to continue to do so!



But we must be humble and self-critical. For gender policy has not always been given the prominence it deserves. My own attitude in the younger years was that equality comes by itself with the new generations. Nowadays, I have learned more. There are structures and patterns that often disadvantage women. And breaking them requires great determination and tenacity.



In my grandmother's time was all gender struggle that women would have the same rights as men. The battle is won. Now is the struggle that women also should get the same opportunities as men.



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An old buddy of mine works as a nurse in health care. He wondered to train to be a nurse but found that he could not afford. The pay gap was too small to compensate for taking student loans.

Wage differentials are called by the left of the "gaps" and they are always considered to be wrong. As long as not all earn the same wages are unjust. But let me sacrilege. Wage differentials provide incentives for people to continue their education, to dare, to take managerial responsibility.

There are many young people who apply to nursing education. But there is a great shortage of specialist nurses. The reason is simple. It does not pay.

Wages often differ significantly between a female university graduates in the public sector and a male in the private sector. A high school teacher, a nurse and an engineer are all about five years of university education. Despite this, the teacher and the midwife often substantially lower wages than the engineer. Career opportunities are fewer and less wage dispersion. One of the explanations is the traditional prejudices.

But another important reason is that women employers are mostly politicians. It is so hard for politicians, especially the red-green, to defend the pay gap. To defend that graduates will earn more than the LO groups.

It is the female-dominated professions graduates who are the big losers on wage policy in Sweden in modern times.

In the private sector, men had a liberal lönebilning looking individual.

In the public sector, women have had a socialist wage who only see the collective. Where everyone should earn as much.

Wage need more feminism, but less socialism!



It is in this spirit that I have driven a radical reform of the wages for teachers. We have introduced a career step called first teacher, where the most skilled teachers can develop, make careers and earn more. For the fall semester is 14,000 first teachers who receive a pay rise by 5 000 per month paid by the State.

Add to that many municipalities are now raising teacher salaries in general. In Stockholm, the ruling Alliance decided to raise teachers' salaries by as much as six percent this year.

First Teachers' Reform is a major achievement. It creates career opportunities. The increasing wage dispersion. It raises average wages. The rewards performance and provides good incentives. We also see a strong increase in application rates of young people into teacher education since the reform was announced.

We bring with us the good experiences into more female-dominated academic occupations in the public sector. Therefore I have today announced the Liberal Party's proposals for new reforms in the same spirit.

Firstly, we should extend the first teacher reform. I imagine that in a few years should be a quarter of teachers in the school to be the first teacher. It almost requires a further doubling by autumn expansion, a total of nearly 25 000 first teacher.

Secondly, we should introduce the reforms in preschool; a post as principal preschool.

Third, also need care more career and development opportunities. We should introduce a career reform of 5000 crowns raise even for nurses with specialized focus, such as midwives and surgical nurses.

The reform must be drawn up in consultation with the parties, just as we did with the school careers of reform.

Now I will say that the first teacher reform is not uncontroversial. Munkfors is one of the social-democratic municipalities that have placed themselves outside the reform. It s noticed the Chairman of the Education Committee which says that reform is unfair because some course which will earn more than others.

But my friends, whether the Swedish Law of Jante or Swedish socialists will stop us.

It is time to move from words to action!

It must pay to educate themselves - even in occupations dominated by women!



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And speaking of pay differentials. It is exactly in that age at 25-30-35 when employers and businesses begin choosing which skills to bet on the future, which are to be matched in his career, which many people form families. And there are many employers who then choose not skilled women because they are afraid that they will be absent. This is an invisible delete quota of women who actually takes place every week in our workplaces and it is a great loss of skills for Sweden.

The road to a more equal labor market with equal pay is, therefore, also through a more equal parental leave. Therefore, it is time for the next legislative period go ahead and introduce a third earmarked month of parental insurance.



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When the grandmother Emma Charlotta was born nearly 130 years ago, Sweden was a poor, underdeveloped country. A fifth of the population, one million Swedes left Sweden as economic migrants to seek his fortune in the New World. Instead of growth, was characterized by many years of crop failure. People starved.

Consider for a moment how hygiene maintained before vacuum cleaners, washing machines and dishwashers. How the heat was sustained before the boiler, the food was kept cold before the refrigerator and freezer. How clothes made and repaired. Who took care of large broods where one pregnancy took over the other? Who took care of elderly parents who needed help and support before home care and community homes for the elderly were?

Women toiled hard in this society. My grandmother Emma Charlotta each of them.

It is economic development that has enabled the social welfare state. Anti-growth romanticism within the Swedish left lacks any basis in reality. The standard of living during the 1900s has increased more than tenfold. It is this which has made possible the expansion of kindergartens, schools, elderly care, health care and pensions. It is this welfare society that enabled gender equality. It is no coincidence that the most economically developed countries also often the most equal.

Three of the four Red-Green parties now goes to the polls on emerging critical message. I had respect for it if they simultaneously had said that people should have lower living standards. But on the contrary, they promise everything to everyone. Shorter working hours, longer holidays, higher wages, higher pensions, increased contributions, more staff in all the activities, higher environmental ambitions. Everything, everything, everything for everyone.

Schyman recently received the question in a newspaper interview that her economic policies could hang together. How would all the promises are paid. Her reply was: "The problem is not the money - but how they are distributed." In ten weeks, she was sitting in the government.

The worst of this promise populism is Gustav Fridolin, and then still fiercely competitive. There is not a single possible contribution or expenditure promise he did not promise this. While he wants to stop economic growth. I saw an old movie from the '70s are now re-recorded and soon will have revival. It is the film "The boy with the gold pants". I nominate Gustav Fridolin the main role.

The truth is that without economic growth, but successful industrial and service companies, we will soon become a poorer country. That's when social welfare takes a beating. Please look at Greece. It is a country that does not actually experienced growth in recent years. But lo and behold, the people there do not seem to pay tribute to the Green Party's economic ideal state. Teachers and nurses get fired. School classes become larger. Pensions decreases. Young has no job. Eldercare closes again. Guess who are the biggest losers; The answer is the women. They get the first kick from the welfare sector, then they have to take care of elderly parents when the elderly housing closed again.

A society without growth, economic stagnation, will be a hard society with tough conditions. Equality is the first to take a beating.

The red-green economic policy is the biggest trap for women who have been booby-trapped.

It must be stopped on September 14th!



When I was a kid in the 60's, it was not to fish in Viskan in my home. The water was poisoned by industrial pollution. Nowadays it is possible again to fish. Because municipalities and companies in Viskadalen now afford to clean and care for emissions.

For the party that call themselves environmentalists and advocates of zero growth, I would say; do not believe that the environment would benefit the economy stops. It is poor countries that can not afford to clean their water and their emissions. It's more developed countries that can afford to prioritize the environment. Should we be able to save the Baltic Sea or to maintain biodiversity, it requires large financial resources.

Economic growth is not a threat to a clean environment. Economic growth is a prerequisite for a clean environment.



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"Disappear RUT lost my business." So says Irina. She is the founder of the cleaning company Hemänglarna. Irina is not alone. Thousands of companies and jobs have been created since the RUT deduction was introduced. Many of the women. A black industry has become whiter.

The red-green opposition now wants to halve or eliminate the deduction. Stefan Löfven, Jonas Sjöstedt, Åsa Romson and Gustav Fridolin going to disappoint all those women, many foreign-born, as the RUT deduction got a job, which today has its own salary and that collects pension for the future.

However, they allow the tax deduction remain - a deduction which is used in traditional male industries. Red-green equality is to give the male painter deductions to paint a window, but denying the female maid pension for cleaning the same window.

Our message to Irina:

RUT deduction should remain!

The red-green should not be taxing away for equality!



Since many women work in the welfare sector, it is also here that women start companies. They have become more in line with public monopolies loosened up. Freedom of choice has increased, both for those working in welfare and for those who use it. Parents who are dissatisfied with the children's school is now entitled to change schools. Nurses can choose from more employers. Older people, especially, the women can choose services and home help. Power has shifted from politicians to individuals. We think Liberals are good. But socialists like monopolies. Especially in female-dominated occupations.

They think it is good choice, as long as the politicians get to choose.

Socialists think that profit is okay, as long as the profit is made in the traditional male industries. But if profits occur in female entrepreneurship as it should be banned. Jonas Sjöstedt demands yesterday was that of the large female-dominated sectors should all entrepreneurship is limited to the staff cooperative. PLCs should only be allowed to occur in the traditionally male entrepreneurship.

Nor do I think that short-term venture capital company belongs in the welfare sector. They must be removed. But all welfare enterprise, we are talking primarily about women that every day in their company is doing great deeds - they will be welcome in the welfare sector.

We say yes to women's entrepreneurship in the welfare!

We say no to the left of welfare!



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Seven. There are so many municipalities in Sweden where boys have higher grades in school than girls. 7 of 290 municipalities. Girls are better than boys in all subjects except sport. Almost one in three fifteen year old boy can not read at a basic level. Most people who fail in school today are girls.

Historically, we have won many victories in the school area, together with the Social Democrats. That working class children would receive the same access to education as other children is one of them. But left scale after 1968 changed everything. It swept right into the classrooms. Matriculation and Ratings abolished. Performance and evaluation was profanity. The status of teachers was dismantled, literally wore out katedrarna from classrooms and cut down the podiums. They were a symbol that someone decided. In time, the pulpit teaching more and more being replaced by independent work.

Working-class boys were the big losers. Those who do not come from the study experienced home do worse in school without grades and evaluation. Because boys mature later than girls, the more difficult in a school with a lot of independent work. This, in combination with an anti-swot culture that is both widespread among boys and more socially acceptable, has made the boys the losers.

Attitude Problems also affects primarily them. Every third student in high school is disturbed in lessons of other students. We have problems with truancy. Sweden tops the world rankings of late arrival.

The cleansing that Swedish schools are now undergoing is about restoring the knowledge of school. Then we must focus on results. Therefore, we need rating. We must have discipline, study and work in peace. We shall have more of an active teacher-led instruction in classrooms and less of their own projects.

Equality Politics is mostly about seeing patterns and structures that essentially disadvantage women, and trying to fix them. But we must admit that the school policy, it is usually the other way around. Flum school, without clear requirements, structures, without standards and adult authority figures have affected the boys from the working class.

I myself was born in a working class home textiles, with no tradition of study. Without Margaret, Bridget and the Majlis, my teacher in elementary school, who had high demands for both studying and behavior, I do not think I had been here today. Leave it to power the students will no class trips to be made because students can not choose something they do not know.

Social Democratic Party's education policy has hit hardest the working class its own children.

That is why we are social liberals are inspired by restoring the Swedish knowledge school!



- "Sometimes when my mother is not talking anything as I thought he killed her."

Alicia is 12 years old. Her father locked her in a room with her little brother. He usually does so when he beat their mother.

The most frightening think Alicia is when she hears her mother's voice. Because she is locked up, she can not get out and help her. Alicia does not know if her own mother is lying dead on the other side of the door, killed by her own father.

Alicia and her little brother is no exception. Not their mother, either. She is one of tens of thousands of women in Sweden who are abused. They are prisoners in their own home.

This is one of the largest gender equality challenges. Everyone should feel safe.

We must admit that the flatness been too great when it comes to men's violence against women. We have not done enough. Each kind is a failure of our society.

More men that strikes should be forced to wear ankle bracelet. The penalties for a woman 'should be tightened up. The protected Lodging will be more.

The home should be a safe place - not a crime!



We are facing a valuation cool. A crossroads which is about the world we will leave to our children and grandchildren. Sweden will be a country for all or a country for selected? Should we accept differences, or do we fight them? Should we live with diversity or do we live in the silliness and stupidity?

Jimmie Åkesson devoted much of his speech to attack the Liberal Party. I understand him. Our Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag pushing to give the people who come to our country in the best position to make a future here. It is a completely different vision than that Jimmie Åkesson has.

When Åkesson wants to return the children to war, Syria we stand up for a Sweden that gives people fleeing a sanctuary.

When Åkesson says that immigrants cost money, so we say thank you to the over 700,000 foreign-born people who go to work and contribute to our welfare.

Liberals opens the doors Sweden Democrats shut!

Liberals tear the walls that Sweden Democrats are building!

Liberals gather those Sweden Democrats want to split!

The Liberal Party says yes to immigration and no to racism!



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A bourgeois Alliance government toward a social democratic party government. So, the options in Sweden looked throughout my lifetime. But suddenly the situation is different. The Swedish Left has gone through a major transformation in recent times.

Today, an alliance government with four games against a rödgrönrosa options that also have four parties. The Left Party, Green Party, the Social Democrats and the Feminist Initiative. Three of these parties; V, MP and FI, have much in common. The three have never ever led government responsibility, competing in the left populism. If Sweden gets a red-green government for ten weeks it will be the most left-wing government that Sweden has ever had.

Between 6-700000 voters. So many different now between the political blocs according to the measurements. It is of course up hill for the Alliance. This means that up to 350 000 voters must switch sides before election day if the Alliance Government to win. But two million people have not yet decided. It is quite possible to turn this around. It depends on us now in the next ten weeks.

The past six years have been unique. The world has gone through a global financial crisis. The worst since the 1930s. How is Sweden affected?

The answer is that we have expanded welfare. While we have lowered taxes for ordinary people. The number of jobs has increased by a quarter of a million, and Sweden exit the financial crisis as one of the West's strongest economies. This is the Alliance government's merit. We have governed Sweden for eight years and we intend to continue for another four years.

Against us stands a rödgröntrosa chaos which refuses to talk about his economic policies. Most of them have the same attitude to the economy Schyman; "Money is not the problem."

Stefan Löfven and Magdalena Andersson sounds increasingly desperate as they should explain that the three parties of the left not to have any influence over key issues. Löfven think seriously that he could form a government with three other parties, who jointly collect between 20-25 percent of the electorate, without receiving any influence? Then I can tell you one thing; so does not a coalition.

The choice is between a stable development with an Alliance Government or a rödgröntrosa chaos. It is a chaos that will hit ordinary people. Our advice to the Swedish people are; go through your family finances after the holidays;

-How much higher electricity prices will you pay?

-How much higher interest rates can tolerate you?

How long do you want your teenagers to go without jobs?

-after six-hour day is introduced; Who should teach your children when the teachers go home at half past one? Who will help grandmother when home care services have a sabbatical year?

The theme of my speech today has been equality. Our opponents call themselves all left feminists. The truth is that when they have to choose, they are more left than feminists. When the economy destroyed, women are the big losers.

Sweden needs feminism! But without socialism!



Thanks!
