There was no traditional press conference with all parliamentary parties. The members of the Parliamentary Committee, which reviews the government's work, could not stand together as the committee could not agree on what criticism should be directed at certain ministers.
"We disagree about what counts as shortcomings," says Mats Green, Moderate Party and vice chairman of KU.
The Tidö parties claim that the opposition is to blame and has wanted to exploit the committee for "party political media exposure," while the opposition believes that the ruling parties are trying to protect their ministers during an election year.
Quarrel over Somalia agreement
The two cases that the parties have argued about the most are the government's migration agreement with Somalia on increased returns and the security scandal at Lantmäteriet.
"The criticism must, of course, rest on a constitutional basis, not be general political opinion. Somalia is the archetype of a case that is just politics and nothing else," says Green.
But KU's chairwoman Jennie Nilsson (S) disagrees.
I find it hard to see anything other than trying to protect their ministers. It's unfortunate and it's serious.
The opposition has also wanted to question more ministers during this spring's review, including Minister of Defense Pål Jonson (M) and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) about the Lantmäteriet security scandal.
Sharp writings
However, KU criticizes the government on at least two points.
Several ministers, including former Minister of Education Mats Persson (L) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), have been highlighted for their shareholdings and potential conflicts of interest.
"The committee assumes that there is an understanding of the importance of maintaining a safe distance in matters that may raise private financial interests," writes KU.
The government has also been criticized in the case of former national security adviser Henrik Landerholm, who left sensitive documents at a course campus. The government took 673 days to file a damage assessment related to the Landerholm case and was slow to release documents.
"As a general rule, public documents should be registered as soon as they have been received by or drawn up by an authority," the committee writes.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has also previously admitted that it was far too late and that "routines had been broken."
Former Minister of Education and Research Mats Persson (L):
Bought shares in Ericsson, a company that was part of an innovation and research program he had, in a government decision the week before, helped to approve additional support for. KU states that Persson's actions violate a provision in one of Sweden's constitutions - the Swedish Constitution - which states that ministers may not have assignments or do anything that could undermine confidence in them. He also did not report his holdings of the shares until five months after the purchase.
Former Minister of Migration, current Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard (M):
Bought shares in a subcontractor to a company that was negotiating with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) to sell combat vehicles to the armed forces. A month later, she took part in a decision to approve billions in funding for FMV to purchase equipment. Only then, in retrospect, did she report her share purchase. This too may lead to doubts about whether the minister had private financial reasons for her purchase, KU points out.
Former Minister of Education and Liberal Party leader Johan Pehrson and Minister of Civil Service Erik Slottner (KD) are also mentioned by KU regarding the importance of ministers reporting shareholdings and being careful to declare conflicts of interest.
KU also emphasizes that it is the head of government, the Prime Minister, who has the ultimate responsibility for making it clear to the people who are appointed as ministers that they must follow certain rules.
Source: KU report 2025/26:KU20
