Published 5 September 2024 at 09.32
Domestic. After a conflict with Ulf Kristersson, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström is now resigning and leaving politics completely, several media reports.
Share the article
TwitterShare
The conflict is said to have intensified in recent the months after Ulf Kristersson «intruded on the foreign minister's territory» during the NATO process and in connection with the release of Johan Floderus, writes Expressen and refers to sources within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Billström's and Kristersson's press secretaries, however, deny the information about a conflict.
According to his own information, Billström is also leaving the Riksdag and is now aiming for one of the high-paying positions that are usually offered to politicians in Sweden immediately after they resign. Something which is controversial because the jobs are often de facto exempt from work and could easily constitute a reward for services performed during the time as a minister.
A regulatory framework with waiting periods for high-ranking politicians has been discussed but never came into place.
In his public communication, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is careful to make it sound like there is now some kind of physical work ahead.
«I am only 50 years old and look forward to contribute and work hard in other contexts where my commitment comes into its own,» he writes in a press release. In a comment to Aftonbladet, he further says:
— This gives me a chance to get a fresh start in working life. Exactly what types of missions there will be is completely open. But I'm no stranger to business.