Sweden PM Ulf Kristersson Faces Fresh Corruption Allegations Ahead Of Polls

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has been dogged by scandal throughout his four-year term, wriggling out each time with little consequence, and now faces new corruption allegations three months ahead of legislative elections.

Headlines across Sweden in recent days have focused on questionable ethics from Kristersson and his wife, ordained Lutheran priest Birgitta Ed.

Newspaper Aftonbladet reported that a foundation run by Ed recruited volunteers to raise funds and refurbish the foundation's manor house in exchange for a "good network" of contacts and meetings held at the prime minister's official residence.

Two of the volunteers were later appointed to government positions, it said.

In a comment to Aftonbladet, Kristersson rejected the claims as "false accusations."

"This organisation is run by my wife and has nothing to do with me," he said.

Aftonbladet's reporter also said she was able to access Kristersson's and Ed's bedroom on the property without a security check.

Aftonbladet further revealed that the general director of Sweden's Public Health Agency was fired in 2024 after questioning a government directive to prioritise "existential health" -- just as Ed started offering retreats for "existential health".

In another highly publicised case in 2023, Kristersson was heavily criticised for hiring a childhood friend to serve as national security advisor, and adamantly defended him when he left classified documents in an unlocked locker at a Stockholm conference centre.

Kristersson, whose right-wing government is propped up by the far-right, also faced heat in 2025 for backing his migration minister when the latter's 16-year-old son was found to have links to white supremacist groups.

He has also faced accusations of conflict of interest in his sister-in-law's business affairs, and was criticised for allowing his daughter to host a party at the prime minister's official summer residence.

'Continuous basis' 

Law professor Olle Lundin at Uppsala University said the slew of scandals were clear-cut cases of corruption. 

"Corruption is when someone abuses their public power for their own or someone else's gain. And you almost have to say that he does that on a continuous basis," Lundin told AFP.

And yet there have been no legal consequences and very few calls for his resignation -- in a country ranked the sixth-least corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International.

"There is nothing criminal, or illegal, in any of it," Lundin said.

He said the only verdict would come from voters at the ballot box.

Opinion polls ahead of the September 13 general election show the right-wing bloc trailing the opposition by about 10 points.

"But they were there before the latest scandals," Nicklas Kallebring, head of opinion analysis at the Ipsos polling institute, told AFP.

The government has implemented a barrage of reforms to crack down on crime and immigration, including some hotly contested proposals -- notably one to jail 13-year-olds accused of serious crimes -- which have hurt the government in opinion polls, Kallebring said.

Corrupt or careless? 

Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson, who is vying to take over as prime minister, said the scandals were evidence "of a corrupt Kristersson culture".

But University of Gothenburg political scientist Andreas Bagenholm said he didn't think they were big enough to hurt Kristersson politically. 

"I don't know whether voters consider these as scandals, or rather as carelessness, poor judgment to some extent."

"There are no real juicy scandals where it's obvious that Kristersson has himself benefitted financially, so I don't think any of this will really stick to him," he said.

Corruption expert Lundin said Kristersson had not just been "careless", describing his actions as "very deliberate and intentional."

But even he acknowledged that scandals "run off him like water off a duck's back."

One of the few to call for Kristersson's resignation was Nalin Baksi, a Social Democratic political commentator who said Kristersson's friendships and frequent contacts with top businessmen and lobbyists ought to "immediately disqualify" him for the job of prime minister.

"Time and again, reports have emerged about conflicts of interest, financial benefits for his family, and suspected abuse of power," she wrote in the Expressen newspaper on Thursday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)