The past six months have been turbulent for Stockholm's Governor Anna Kinberg Batra, who took office 1.5 years ago.
It was after revelations in Aftonbladet and TV4 News about irregularities in the hiring of three people at the county administrative board that the Chancellor of Justice (JO) launched an investigation. When it was completed last week, the criticism was sharp.
According to the JO, Anna Kinberg Batra's actions demonstrate "nonchalance and a lack of respect for the fundamental regulations that exist to maintain the public's trust in public activities".
In one of the cases, the JO also believes that the Governor was biased, as she had hired her friend, who is also her daughter's godmother.
Smart Stockholmers
However, this is not the first time the former Moderate Party leader has been at the center of events.
Something that still haunts her, over 20 years later, is a statement she made during the 1998 election. The Moderate Youth Association (Muf) had collected a large sum of money for Anna Kinberg Batra's personal election campaign. When asked if she was worth the money, she gave the now-classic response:
The voters will decide. I trust the Stockholmers. All those who are eligible to vote are adults. And Stockholmers are smarter than people from the countryside, I think.
She failed to get into parliament that time and has repeatedly had to apologize for the statement, which she has called "the dumbest thing I've said publicly".
However, she was elected to parliament as a regular member in 2001 and became the Moderate Party's group leader in 2010.
After the Moderate Party's election loss in 2014 and Fredrik Reinfeldt's resignation, Anna Kinberg Batra was elected as the new party leader in 2015. She made history as the Moderate Party's first female party leader.
Demands for Resignation
It was a time when the Moderate Party was losing voters to the Sweden Democrats. When Anna Kinberg Batra, as the first Moderate Party leader, chose to open up for talks with the Sweden Democrats in parliament, it led to a significant drop in voter opinion. She also received much criticism for unclear communication and internal discontent grew. In March 2017, the Sweden Democrats surpassed the Moderate Party in polls for the first time.
Less than six months later, the Moderate Party had a support of 15.2 percent, which was a new record low for the party, and demands for Kinberg Batra's resignation were raised again.
When eleven regional associations turned their backs on her, the decision finally came on August 25, 2017, Kinberg Batra resigned as Moderate Party leader. Seven years later, the Moderate Party is now closely cooperating with the Sweden Democrats.
Anna Kinberg Batra will retain her position at the Government Offices until February 2029, when her appointment expires.
