Former Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström faces criticism for receiving a full severance package while earning substantial income as a speaker. Despite earning over 600,000 SEK in three months through his consultancy, Billström continues to collect 156,000 SEK monthly from taxpayers. This situation mirrors a similar controversy involving Fredrik Reinfeldt in 2015, raising questions about political figures' use of public funds.
Tobias Billström's Controversial Severance Package Sparks Debate
Tobias Billström's Controversial Severance Package Sparks Debate
Tobias Billström runs his own company and earns significant sums as a speaker. Meanwhile, the former minister collects a full severance package from taxpayers amounting to 156,000 SEK per month. Fredrik Reinfeldt faced harsh criticism for a similar arrangement in 2015.
Tobias Billström resigned as Sweden's Foreign Minister last September. His departure has been surrounded by speculation about a rift with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, and this fall, Billström will release the book "Skarpt läge," where he promises an explanation for his exit.
Shortly after his resignation, Tobias Billström also established a limited company in his own name. Through the consultancy Tobias Billström AB, he offers "lectures on geopolitics and training and advice on management and governance." Billström is also affiliated with several speaker agencies.
"What a week!"
Requests seem to have poured in. On LinkedIn, Tobias Billström describes an intense schedule with assignments for several major companies and organizations, including Ica, Fastighetsägarna, and Wallenberg.
"What a week! There are weeks that just fly by because you enjoy your work and the tasks at hand. The demand for geopolitical guidance is particularly high right now given the global situation, and my schedule is full of requests for Tobias Billström AB," he writes.
Tobias Billström also earns well from these assignments. A standard lecture with Billström costs 75,000 SEK plus VAT, according to the speaker agency Athenas for Expressen.
It can also be more expensive, for example, if the lecture is to be held in English or outside Stockholm. Last winter, EFN reported that Billström led a training session partly held in Brussels, where the participation fee alone was 78,000 SEK per person.
600,000 SEK in Three Months
Billström has not yet submitted an annual report, but VAT payments for the second quarter of this year – April, May, and June – correspond to revenues of over 600,000 SEK.
Despite this, Tobias Billström has applied for and collected full severance pay of 156,000 SEK per month, without making any deductions.
According to the rules, former ministers should report new income, which should reduce their severance package. However, since Tobias Billström has not taken out any salary, he avoids making deductions for the company's income.
"I have had a transition year and have followed the existing regulations. And it is true that I have given several lectures even though my main task has been to write my book. Since my company is under development, I have not taken out any salary, so deductions have not been relevant," Billström writes in a comment to Expressen.
Following Reinfeldt's Example
The arrangement is reminiscent of how Fredrik Reinfeldt used his severance pay when he left politics in 2015. The former Prime Minister also collected full severance despite million-dollar revenues in his own company, as revealed by SVT's investigation.
The revelation sparked a debate about a double standard in the view of benefits. Both Reinfeldt and Billström have criticized the so-called welfare state and want it to be more profitable to work. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, during the 2018 election campaign, Tobias Billström wrote:
"The big problem is that many people live on benefits instead of working."
In September, Tobias Billström will have collected his entire severance package as a former minister, amounting to nearly two million SEK. At the same time, Billström, who was elected to the Riksdag in 2002, is entitled to an additional eight million SEK due to the Riksdag's income guarantee, as reported by DN.