Decemberöverenskommelsen

Decemberöverenskommelsen, commonly known as the December Agreement or DÖ, was a Swedish political agreement reached in December 2014 to secure stable governance after the general election that year. The deal was primarily a cross-party arrangement designed to allow the Social Democratic minority government, led by Stefan Löfven, to pass its budget and key policy measures in the Riksdag.

The agreement was signed by four parties: the Social Democrats (S), the Green Party (MP), Center Party (C), and Liberal People's Party (Liberalerna, L). It explicitly excluded the Sweden Democrats from influence. The core idea was to establish a working majority on the government’s budget votes by coordinating across party lines, thereby reducing the risk that the opposition would topple the government through budget initiatives. The pact aimed to create predictability in budgetary decisions and certain policy areas for the duration of the arrangement.

In practice, the DÖ meant that the government would seek and receive backing from the four signatories for its budget and many major policy decisions, even though the government did not hold a formal majority in the Riksdag. The arrangement was controversial, drawing criticism from parts of the Alliance opposition (Moderates, Christian Democrats, Centre Party, and Liberal government) and from some voters who viewed it as a departure from traditional bloc politics.

The December Agreement remained a defining feature of Swedish budget politics for several years but gradually lost traction after 2018, as the Center and Liberal parties reduced their support and political realignments continued. By the late 2010s the arrangement’s practical influence waned, though its legacy continued to shape debates about governance and parliamentary cooperation in Sweden.