Institutions, politicians or ideas? To whom or what are public servants expected to be loyal? (original) (raw)

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

, 261 senior public servants in the Swedish Central Government Office (CGO, in Swedish regeringskansliet) presented a statement to the administrative director of the CGO. This was the day before the newly elected Parliament passed a vote of no confidence against the Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Löfven. In the statement, which was not made public but was only intended for the head of the CGO, the signatories expressed concern whether the appointment of a new government, in some way or other dependent on the support of the right-wing Sweden Democrats-although their name was never mentioned-would impact the 'normative foundation' (värdegrund) of Sweden's policies. This normative foundation was mainly derived from the UN declaration of Human Rights and the UNESCO Convention of the Rights of the Child as well as the Swedish Constitution. More specifically, the statement raised three questions (present author's translation). First, Can the CGO as an employer guarantee that the next government or its parliamentary support base will not undercut the CGOs normative foundation and policies in the areas of ethnicity and non-discrimination? Will these policies remain regardless of which parties form government or its parliamentary support base? Second, If the duty of loyalty towards the government and the employer CGO should conflict with the Constitution's rulings on equal rights and protection against discrimination as well as the CGO personnel policy and equal opportunity and possibility plan, which takes precedence?

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