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There has not been a sharp collapse of confidence in voter opinion, at least not according to a recent Expressen / Sifo, but the activities of ministers, which are critical of coronary norms, still cast a difficult shadow on 2021.
The next time the government warns of congestion in commerce and other socially dangerous behavior, people will see Morgan Johansson in front of them, happily carrying a “small appliance” at the noon auction in Lund. Or a slightly stubborn Stefan Löfven, wandering through a shopping mall looking for a replacement part for his pocket knife.
Will the question of closing ski resorts return to the agenda? Yes, then the image of the Minister of Finance about ski rental in Sälen will also appear in the public consciousness.
Some will be cursed, others will be more encouraged by these thoughts. Either way, it is not directly the pinnacle of government authority as a national guide through the remainder of the pandemic.
Managing Director Dan Eliasson of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency is, of course, a painful chapter in itself.
That the head of the Swedish emergency preparedness authority spends two weeks on vacation in an archipelago off the coast of Africa, amid the second wave of a pandemic, is alarming enough. What foreign media have also pointed out.
When the boss also explains that he judged the trip as “necessary” – to celebrate Christmas with the family! – remember some socially critical satire from Madness & After Shave.
Interior Minister Mikael Damberg, head of the authority in question, announced on Monday that he will meet with Eliasson later this week to “listen and discuss the situation that has arisen.”
At that meeting, many would probably like to be a fly on the wall.
Eliasson’s future as CEO seems likely to be on the agenda. It was only two years ago that the government, for political reasons, felt compelled to remove Dan Eliasson from the post of chief of the National Police. The location in MSB was comfortable when pushing down obliquely and, above all, away from the spotlight, it was thought then.
However, the situation is far from easy for the government, for the reasons mentioned above. Kicking Eliasson can now be seen as a peasant sacrifice and like making new unofficial recommendations from the crown: do a bit of what you want as long as you don’t go to the Canary Islands.
At the same time, it should not be ruled out that the role of MSBs during the pandemic will be raised at the meeting.
MSB participates in all press conferences with the Swedish Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare, but even after ten months, few if any have understood why. Strategic advisor Svante Werger declares himself week after week willing to answer questions, but there are hardly any.
On some occasions, MSB has certainly managed to get through the noise of the pandemic.
This spring, substantial resources were invested in developing a mobile app for infection tracking purposes, but that app never saw the light of day on screens. The project had to be thrown in the trash, among other things, after disagreements with the Public Health Agency.
Now, in December, the matter concerned the text message terribly noticed to the public, where MSB was the sender, despite the fact that the authority was from the beginning against the whole increase.
Perhaps this is how we should view Dan Eliasson’s journey. Some kind of protest against the rejected role of authority? A deliberate provocation?
In fact, it is hard to believe that Dan Eliasson, politically experienced, controversial before and above all recognized as few other Swedish heads of government, had no idea what with some probability he would start when he boarded the plane to Las Palmas.
It was over on the first Monday. Now a long year awaits us: for the government, for the MSB and for all of us.
Viktor Barth-Kron is a political commentator at Expressen.
READ MORE: Expressen’s revelation about Dan Eliasson’s trip to Las Palmas
READ MORE: Expressen interview with Dan Eliasson
