Ex-ministers get millions for not working
Six ministers in Sweden's former government are still being paid nearly 100,000 kronor a month by the state, according to a survey by Metro.
Ex-ministers get to keep their full salaries of 97,000 kronor a month for a year after leaving office, unless they find work that pays as well in the meantime.
Among the former Social Democrat ministers still unemployed are ex-labour minister Hans Karlsson, ex-agriculture minister Ann-Christin Nykvist, ex-defence minister Leni Björklund, ex-migration minister Barbro Holmberg and ex-equality minister Jens Orback.
Laila Freivalds, who resigned as foreign minister before her party lost the election, is on 93,000 kronor a month, the standard ministerial salary at the time of her resignation.
Other former ministers who have found less well-paying jobs get the difference in salary made up by the state.
Jens Orback, a journalist before joining the government, said it was reasonable for ministers to have some breathing space after they are voted out.
"The situation is difficult for me, as someone who came from journalism to politics. It's not all that easy to slalom between these two areas," he told Metro.
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Ex-ministers get to keep their full salaries of 97,000 kronor a month for a year after leaving office, unless they find work that pays as well in the meantime.
Among the former Social Democrat ministers still unemployed are ex-labour minister Hans Karlsson, ex-agriculture minister Ann-Christin Nykvist, ex-defence minister Leni Björklund, ex-migration minister Barbro Holmberg and ex-equality minister Jens Orback.
Laila Freivalds, who resigned as foreign minister before her party lost the election, is on 93,000 kronor a month, the standard ministerial salary at the time of her resignation.
Other former ministers who have found less well-paying jobs get the difference in salary made up by the state.
Jens Orback, a journalist before joining the government, said it was reasonable for ministers to have some breathing space after they are voted out.
"The situation is difficult for me, as someone who came from journalism to politics. It's not all that easy to slalom between these two areas," he told Metro.
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