Social Democrats Criticize State's Reduced Role in Cultural Funding

The Social Democratic Party thinks that the state has already backed away from the public responsibility for culture. The culture's share of the state budget is the lowest in 20 years, says Lawen Redar (S), cultural policy spokesperson.

» Published: June 16 2025

Social Democrats Criticize State's Reduced Role in Cultural Funding
Photo: Jakob Åkersten Brodén/TT

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Lawen Redar welcomes at the same time that the government wants to investigate the broadened financing of cultural life. She means that in the best case, an investigation can give private actors a better foundation to stand on and create a Swedish model for increased financing of individual projects, and an increased interest in financing culture. But that it now happens at the expense of the public.

I know that there is a strong interest in lowering the thresholds so that more people can take part in art and culture, but it requires public financing of culture and that the Minister of Culture seems to be quite uninterested in, says Lawen Redar.

Want to sponsor

She also says that the private actors, philanthropists and patrons she knows are happy to sponsor individual projects, but rarely the ongoing core activities of culture.

So the Minister of Culture is still owed an answer, how will the ongoing core activities in culture be financed if it is not to be done through public cultural policy?

”Bottom record”

Anna Troberg, union president of the trade union DIK, does not believe in Parisa Liljestrands assurance that the public support will not be reduced.

”The Minister of Culture lacks credibility when she claims that the purpose of the investigation is not to be able to reduce public support. The government's culture budget is constantly breaking new bottom records. One does not care about different activities' vastly different conditions for taking in private funds", writes Troberg in an email.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers
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