This week that wretched rag Aftonbladet are claiming the scalp of the Swedish Employment Minister Sven-Otto Littorin. The ‘newspaper’ claims he resigned the day after he was confronted by an Aftonbladet report who asked him if had ever paid for sex. The Minister cited ‘family reasons’ and a tough custody battle with his ex for his departure from government.
Aftonbladet are running around saying he has committed an offence which carried a jail sentence. I say carried in the past tense because this allegedly happened in 2006 so he cannot now be charged.
Whether Littorin did or didn’t the matter is surely one for him and his family. Not for the Swedish Press. If he had come out strongly in favour of family values then yes he should fall on his sword but for my money Mr Littorin did a good job in very tough circumstances so he didnt need to go if indeed this was the case.
There are things that concern me. What made the lady approach the Press now? Apparently she said it was because of whats happening with former police chief Göran Lindberg!!! That is completely different. There was no rape or minor involvement in thi case. Aftonbladet are screaming for Sven Otto Littorin to accept or deny this allegation. Maybe we should be asking if Aftonbladet paid for this information?
I really do think Sweden (and other countries) need to radically change the law on prostitution. As it stands in Sweden, the person offering sex does not get charged its the person who buys it.
Maybe this shows my libertarian roots but I much rather the Police and the courts spend their time and money on violent crimes than prostitution where the prostitute is offering the services of his/her own free will. As opposed being trafficked and forced into this life.
I know the Swedish legislation means well and it wants to protect vulnerable people from being forced into prostitution but its clear this policy has not worked.
Sweden in many ways claims to be liberal but when it comes to prostitution, it is very conservative.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I wholly agree though I also think Littorin ought never to have been a minister in the first place. The man in charge of the labour market should not have bought a degree. It would have been far better to have been an example of how it is possible to succeed without a degree – a lesson many in the western world need to learn.
For me, the most distasteful aspect of the whole affair was Aftonbladet’s national guessing game. They alleged he did something which now carries a prison sentence and, for 24 hours, said nothing more. Up and down the country people speculated that Littorin was a child abuser, druggy etc. etc. A newspaper has the right to hold government ministers to account. However, it also has the responsibility not to abuse it’s power and thus be open about the nature of the allegations it is making.
Did he ever give a reason for that MBA nonsense? I was surprised when I read about this. Especially as he is credited with helping to reform Moderaterna from the elitist Party it used to be?
I can only speak of what I have read of him and I liked what he had to say and how he tried to challenge the Swedish system. If the Alliance win a second term then it would have given him the opportunity to do so much more and repeal some of the Swedish trade union inspired laws that do so much to hurt this country.
I am sure this will be discussed over dinner next week Dave!
First things first:
A minister that is doing something that is illegal is relevant news. It is even more so relevant when his colleagues (B Ask) is looking into harder sentences for the people involved in this tragic business.
The myth of the happy prostitute will never die but it is beyond me how people with normal intelligence still believes in it…
As for Aftonbladet paying for news: of course they are. I know for a fact that they pay SEK 2- 3 000 for a Swedish football related topic that makes it either in the paper or to their web site.
So my guess is that this women is getting something like SEK 50 000 (if not more) for her story.
Personally I prefer if she makes her money this way rathern than having to “serve” pigs like mr Littorin.
Rant over.
His explanation was that he wasn’t aware that his “degree” came from a known degree mill. He showed his masters thesis to a journalist and it seemed to consist of about 50 pages containing about 40 words per page. He knew what he was doing. I have no objection to politicians not having a degree – I’ve seen too many fools with impressive bits of paper and vice versa. However, any politician in charge of the labour market shouldn’t be seen to be cheating in this way, not least since his government is encouraging so many young Swedes to go to university and get a degree the hard way.
That said, I feel sorry for him. The degree issue is wholly separate from his private life, which is neither my nor Aftonbladet’s business.
Look forward to meeting up next week – maybe for the last time in Sweden. Are you still teetotal ?
@Von Oben. I dont personally know any prostitutes so maybe the happy prostitute is a myth. Its my belief though that many choose this profession and are happy with it. Not all prostitutes are Eastern European women who have been shipped in by truck. I am afraid Sweden (and other countries) are very illiberal over this. If a person wants to sell their body then thats down to them. As long as they are over the age of consent and its their choice then I dont think its down to Government to stop them. Why should they?
Remember, many people claim that prostitution is the worlds oldest profession. I would argue that our profession..selling is the oldest profession!
@Prof. Yes still teetotal my friend, almost seven months now and going strong! Looks like I will be in Sweden till second week of August at least now.
I agree with you on the degree. You know my background and that I dont have one so I respect those who get on in life without one. Though as I have mentioned before I feel that I want to study again, either part time or a career break at some point.
Hej Shane! long time I didn’t check your blog, I come back and I find you defending Moderaterna!!!
Since I’m here, I’ll leave my two sosse cents: the point is not if the law is good or not, the point is that if there is a law, everybody must respect it. If Littorin did not like the law, he should have respected it anyway and maybe meanwhile try to change it. He was a minister and could have proposed to change the law, and after that pay as many prostitutes as he wanted. Or should we respect only those laws that we like?
Hi Riccardo, welcome back!
To be honest it doesn’t come down to Party lines for me. I would have defended this even if Littorin was Social Democrat.
You are right in what you are saying but thats all based on if Littorin did actually pay for sex. Right now its all allegations and one word against another. There is no judicial process for him to defend himself here.
I also think its very hard to change that law here in Sweden. Just look at Von Oben’s reaction. To my knowledge only Camilla Lindberg of Folkpartiet has said it should be legalised, she is a lone voice in a Riksdag full of conservatives.