Former Foreign Minister Tobias Billström suggests a revamp of the national security advisor role, a position seen as a prestige project for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Billström argues the role should not be apolitical, a stance Kristersson disagrees with, asserting that national security should not be a partisan issue.
Kristersson Responds to Billström: 'I Don't Understand'
Kristersson Responds to Billström: 'I Don't Understand'
The role of the national security advisor should be reformed, according to former Foreign Minister Tobias Billström. "I don't understand what he's referring to," responds the Prime Minister in Expressen's podcast "Viktor möter."
Billström, who unexpectedly resigned as Foreign Minister last year, writes in his book "Skarpt läge" that he has changed his view on the role of the national security advisor.
The appointment of such a role has been seen as a prestige project for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. However, the turbulence surrounding the first security advisor, Henrik Landerholm, who had to leave after revelations of negligence, has also caused problems for the government.
The idea is that the national security advisor should be an apolitical role. This was a mistake, according to Tobias Billström today.
Kristersson: 'I Don't Understand'
This is not "the right order," he believes.
"No one can work in the immediate vicinity of the Swedish Prime Minister with the weight that the national security advisor is intended to have, without holding a political position. That's just how it is," he writes.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is puzzled by the criticism.
"I don't understand what he's referring to. We believe we are proving quite excellently that it works. I don't think Swedish national security should be a partisan issue."
Is he wrong?
"In that matter, he is wrong, yes."