Published 2024-05-17 23.03
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full screen After the 2020 American election, several conspiracy theories about election fraud spread. Photo: Stephen M. Dowell/AP
NEW YORK. Politicians loyal to Trump tried to stop Biden from being approved for president.
Nevertheless, two Swedish companies continued to allow money to be donated to the election deniers.
– Swedes should be worried, says human rights lawyer Christopher Avery.
Hours after the violent January 6 attack, over a hundred congressional politicians voted no to approve Joe Biden’s election victory – and many spread Donald Trump’s election conspiracies.
The politicians were met with sharp criticism at home. Several giant American companies rushed to stop their donations to the election deniers.
But political committees linked to two Swedish companies – Elekta and Astra Zeneca – allowed their donations to continue.
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full screenDonald Trump, lost the 2020 US presidential election. Photo: Mike Segar / AP
Pointed out
In a recent report from the organization “Donations and Democracy”, which examines the donations of foreign companies, the Swedish giants are singled out for their continued contributions.
The organization’s founder Christopher Avery is surprised and upset.
– If you had told me ten years ago that Swedish companies gave money to American politicians who voted to invalidate a democratic election – then I would never have believed you, he says.
– It is really worrying when Swedish companies undermine democracy in my home country.
He questions why companies, which emphasize the importance of human rights in their statutes, donate to politicians who do not respect legitimate election results.
– I didn’t know this was going on. Human rights people didn’t know, the Swedish public didn’t know. I’m guessing that many employees at Astra Zeneca and Elekta didn’t even know. It has been done quietly, says Avery.
– We want Swedish companies to know that the quiet days are over.
He says they will take the report to the UN working groups for business and human rights.
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AstraZeneca is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company.
1 / 2Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT / TT News Agency
Elekta: Not the company’s own funds
He says they will take the report to the UN working groups for business and human rights.
In the future, the organization, which is made up of volunteers, will release more reports on companies from other countries.
Communications manager Mattias Thorsson at Elekta, a leading company in cancer radiotherapy, points out one thing: It is not the company’s own funds that are donated to American election campaigns.
It is about their US employees having the opportunity to donate through the company’s so-called political action committee (PAC).
The contributions are distributed to both Democrats and Republicans, he says.
Do you still have any responsibility as a company when the money goes to election deniers?
– Elekta’s PAC chooses candidates who we believe promote the cancer issue the most.
– You are asking a question that is actually about something else, which has to do with the increased polarization in American politics. Of course it is important, but it is also important for us to have a dialogue with the political system in the United States.
Donated SEK 30,000
Elekta’s US employees donated a total of SEK 30,000 distributed among three different election-denying politicians in April and May 2021.
Other major corporations stopped their donations after the January 6 attack. Why didn’t Elekta do it?
– The truth is that we first paused all donations after January 6 to wait and see what happened; if someone were to be prosecuted or something, says Mattias Thorsson.
– Then we continued. We have reason to constantly review this and evaluate successively, but the guiding star for us is cancer care.
But human rights lawyer Christopher Avery believes that Elekta and Astra Zeneca have a great responsibility in ensuring that money does not end up with those who undermine democracy.
He believes that corporations have great influence over their PACs. The committee, which often consists of high-ranking people within the company, controls which candidate will receive the grants.
The companies are eager to give money to protect their interests in the US, for example to influence laws and industry regulations.
“Swedes should be worried”
Although the sums are not particularly large in the Swedish examples, Avery believes that many small streams, over several years, can be decisive for political campaigns.
– In an even election battle, when you buy TV ads and other things, it can potentially make a difference.
Although the report has only focused on the six months after the January 6 storming, Avery has seen that the money from Swedish-linked political committees continues.
He thinks it is especially serious because the threat to democracy is a matter of fate for many Americans in the 2024 election.
– Swedes should be worried. If democracy is undermined in the next election, and the results are not respected, then it will not only affect us Americans. It will affect Sweden, NATO, and the EU. It has a profound effect internationally.
The pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca declines to respond to the criticism.
FACTS Elekta’s and Astra Zeneca’s donations in the first half of 2021
arrowDonations and Democracy has mapped direct monetary donations from Elekta and AstraZeneca to members of the United States Congress who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. This during the period January 7 to June 30, 2021
arrowElekta is a multinational company in radiation therapy, with headquarters in Sweden. A political committee of its American affiliate donated money to several different members of Congress, including $1,000 each to three politicians who voted against the election results: Jack Bergman, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith. (April and May 2021)
arrowAlso, AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company, donated money to several members of Congress, including $1,000 to suffragettes Michael Burgess and Richard Hudson, and $2,500 to John Joyce. (May and June 2021)
arrowAll of these congressmen voted against certifying the election results. Several of them have spread election conspiracies.
Read moreFACTS Political Action Committees (PACs) – this is how they work
arrowA PAC is a political committee in the United States organized to raise and spend money to elect and defeat candidates. It is a separate entity, but still managed by, and part of, the company.
arrowWhen a company has its head office in a country other than the USA, for example in Sweden, the American subsidiary can choose the PAC’s executives. These are usually senior managers at the subsidiary. They decide which candidates the company’s PAC will donate to.
arrowBy law, a company cannot donate to its PAC from the company’s central funds. Most of the larger donations tend to be made by subsidiary executives and their families. Donations can also be made by other employees and their families, as well as by shareholders.
arrowThe American subsidiary can pay all PAC’s administrative costs. For example, legal fees, postage for mailing, staff time to compose collection letters, and credit card processing fees.
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