Reading fiction has been an important basic content in mother-tongue education and the school subject Swedish (L1) since the nineteenth century. Declining results in reading skills identified in large-scale international surveys such as PISA are seen as a critical issue for education in general, but also for democracy, social justice and economic competitiveness. Closely related to this is the fact that school has become a battleground in the political debate. This ratio has led to an intensification of reading-promotion programmes in Swedish schools, organised by the National Agency for Education under the name ‘Läslyftet’ (Heightened Reading). Notable here is the effective downplaying of literature, with fiction marginalized in the reading programme in favour of non-fiction. Also, under the motto that all teachers are language teachers, the school-subject Swedish has been marginalized to the benefit of other school-subjects, such as natural sciences, in which, for example, the importance of reading for the development of democratic society is emphasized. What are the implications of such developments for LI education in Sweden, and what are the underlying ideas, interests and values behind identified discourses?