9. Reports to the Constitutional Committee

Since this happened, two reports to the Constitutional Committee have been submitted.

The purpose of the Constitutional Committee is that the members of the Parliament should, if necessary, be able to report ministers for review. [1]

The Green Party’s notification:

‘Request for review of the actions of Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin (M) in connection with the dismissal of an employee at the Energy Agency during April 2024’.

‘Statements from Prime Minister Bohlin raise questions as to whether he influenced the Energy Agency to any extent in his handling of the case. In that case, it would be against the rules that ministers may not direct authorities in individual matters. A cabinet has the right to inquire about conditions at the authorities for which the cabinet is responsible, but the authority in question does not fall under the minister for civil defence.

In light of this, we request that the constitutional committee review the actions of Prime Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin in connection with the dismissal of an employee at the Energy Agency during April 2024.’

The Left Party:

‘The State Council’s (‘Carl-Oskar Bohlins’) reaction came after articles in several magazines. First in the newspaper Fokus, where the source was a former employee of the authority, then in a leading position in Svenska Dagbladet, where the Minister was urged to act […].

The incident has since been commented on in more media and in the public debate. In its statement on X, the Minister referred to a case where an employee of the Energy Agency […] lost her employment because she was active in the organization Rebellmammorna.

The Rebel mothers are a peaceful organization that works to focus on the climate issue, often by sitting in a circle on the ground and singing songs or knitting. The organization does not use violence as a method and is described as extremely peaceful by a dialogue police quoted in Dagens Nyheter.

Our freedoms and rights such as the right to join associations, express one’s opinions and demonstrate are constitutionally enshrined in Sweden. It is important that these rights are defended and guaranteed also for employees in socially important activities. Sweden has independent authorities that work independently. Ministers should therefore be very careful so that they do not risk influencing the work and decisions of the authorities.

When the Minister for Civil Defense writes that he has contacted the Director General of the Energy Agency to find out about an individual employment case, there is therefore reason to think about whether the Minister may have unduly influenced the authority in this way. Furthermore, since the Energy Agency does not belong to Prime Minister Bohlin’s ministry or area of ​​responsibility, more questions are raised due to the actions of the Prime Minister. Against the background of the above, I believe that the constitutional committee should review the actions of Prime Minister Carl Oskar Bohlin.’

 

[1] When writing this, the reports have not yet been handled, but when this will be done, it will be notified here: https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/ku-anmalan/granskning-av-ministern-for-civilt-forsvar-carl_hba1dnr1570/och https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/ku-anmalan/granskning-av-statsradet-carl-oskar-bohlins_hba1dnr1576/