Oscar Sjöstedt is economic and political spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats and a member of the finance committee. He was born in Stockholm, where he has also lived his entire adult life. He paid 670,000 for the vacation home. That’s almost as much as his move has cost taxpayers so far.
Kept a four-room apartment in Stockholm
According to the Riksdag’s regulations, members who live more than five miles from the Riksdag are entitled to compensation for double accommodation and allowances. After the move to the holiday home, Sjöstedt kept his four-room apartment in Stockholm, where his then-partner and minor children were registered. The fee of 4,600 kroner for the condominium could be paid by the Riksdag after he moved to the holiday home. When he sold the four-room apartment this summer, he instead got an overnight apartment paid for by the Riksdag at a cost of SEK 7,800 per month.
See the report: Power’s residences part 2
Often Sjöstedt takes a taxi back and forth from the train station for close to 2,000 kroner per visit to the house in the country. The total cost of Sjöstedt’s taxi journeys, allowance and accommodation is around SEK 14,000 per month.
– To begin with, I live where I want, says Oscar Sjöstedt (SD).
– Now I live in Västmanland’s constituency. I am elected for the Västmanland constituency and sit in the municipal council.
“Based on good judgment”
The move does not violate any rules. Political scientist Bo Rothstein believes that it is impossible to write a watertight rule system that takes all exceptions into account.
– These systems are based on the elected officials having good judgement, a kind of ethical compass, says Rothstein.
SEK 12,000 per month
Sjösted’s party colleague Katja Nyberg (SD), who has also lived in the Stockholm area all her life, has been living in a house in the countryside since 2020 – while her boyfriend and children still live in the capital. In addition to being a member of the Riksdag, she is also a deputy in Flen’s municipal council. She states that she moved because of a conflict with the Sweden Democrats’ local party leadership in Stockholm.
– I could not fulfill my mission. Here in Sörmland, where I now sit in the municipal council, I was immediately received with open arms, says Katja Nyberg (SD).
After she signs up for the house in the country, she is entitled to approximately SEK 12,000 per month in allowances and compensation for the apartment in Stockholm.
The political scientist: “People are losing trust”
Bo Rothstein does not want to comment on the review of Nyberg and Sjöstedt, but says that what people may perceive as “fiddling” can have dire consequences.
– People are losing confidence in the political system we have.
Oscar Sjöstedt (SD) is today elected for the Västmanland constituency and sits on the municipal council in Skinnskatteberg, where his cabin is located. Although he is repeatedly asked whether he thinks it is reasonable that the taxpayers should cover all the extra costs for his move to the holiday home, he does not answer this.
– I have not been involved in designing those regulations. This is not Soviet Russia.