With a score of 80 out of 100, Sweden ranks as the sixth least corrupt country in the world on Transparency International's annual index of perceived corruption.
The position is about the same as last year, but since 2015 Sweden has lost 9 points and dropped down the list. At the same time, Denmark and Finland are still at the top with 89 and 88 points respectively.
According to Ulrik Åshuvud, there are several reasons for the difference between the Nordic countries.
They do not have the same challenges as Sweden when it comes to organized crime and unauthorized influence, infiltration and extortion that occur in many areas of the welfare system, Åshuvud says.
“Trust is broken”
But Sweden also struggles with problems other than crime, Åshuvud explains.
We need to improve control in procurement processes and strengthen transparency around what is procured. We have been saying for several years that we need to establish a comprehensive national procurement database. Finland, for example, has one, and it is a good example.
A third factor is various forms of conflicts of interest among people in positions of power in Sweden, such as former Governor Anna Kinberg Batra's recruitments or when politicians and senior civil servants move to the private sector.
There has been everything from questionable appointment processes at high levels to share trading by ministers that erodes trust in the system, Åshuvud says.
The government has promised an action plan against corruption and has previously proposed various legislative tightening measures, for example against bribery abroad, as well as strengthened rules on party financing and a first lobby register.
“Serious crisis”
But Ulrik Åshuvud notes that the government has only moved forward with a small part of those legal tightening measures, namely the one on abuse of public position.
He also notes that today's legislation regarding party financing is still the same as it was during the last election, when five out of eight parliamentary parties were prepared to circumvent the rules on anonymous contributions in a TV4 investigation.
There is a serious crisis in the political system when it comes to political integrity. There is a proposal that closes off some of the possibilities, but it would have been good if it were in place now that we have a new election.
The index measures perceived corruption within the public sector in countries around the world, with each country being scored based on different criteria.
The following countries rank at the top:
Denmark – 89 points
Finland – 88
Singapore – 84
New Zealand, Norway – 81
Sweden, Switzerland – 80
Luxembourg, Netherlands – 78
Germany, Iceland – 77.
The following countries rank at the bottom:
Somalia, South Sudan – 9 points
Venezuela – 10
Yemen, Libya, Eritrea – 13
Sudan, Nicaragua – 14
Syria, North Korea, Equatorial Guinea – 15
Source: Transparency International
