Former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has been criticised after the recent announcement that he will do part-time work for the public affairs company Rud Pedersen. In addition to the general debate about lobbying (Sweden does not have a transparency register like many other countries, for example), a specific issue is that Stefan Löfven also is the current President of the Party of European Socialists, PES.
I asked the PES secretariat about this. Below you will find my questions and the PES response.
“As you might know, the contract between Mr Löfven and Rud Pedersen has attracted quite some attention in Sweden. Yesterday for example, a Swedish Social Democrat called for Mr Löfven’s resignation as PES President arguing inter alia that being a party leader is not compatible with the role at a lobbying firm with secret clients.
Against this backdrop, I have three questions:
1. Given the commitment to transparency and the fight against corruption in the PES charter (art 48 in the 2018 version) and in a recent resolution, does the PES consider work for lobbying firms with secret clients compatible with roles such as being President of the party?
2. In Sweden, Rud Pedersen’s clients are secret, but the EU transparency register shows that some of them are companies deeply critical to the way Frans Timmermans has led work on the Green Deal. If Stefan Löfven stays on as PES President, will he be involved in the choice of the lead candidate of the PES for Commission President (“Spitzenkandidat”)?
3. How do you think this issue might affect the election campaign (given the debate on corruption and transparency during the last months after the scandal in the European Parliament)?”
PES response: “President of the Party of European Socialists (PES) is an honorary position and Stefan Löfven does not receive a salary for this position.
As part of his personal commitment to fair and sustainable development in Sweden and the Nordic region, Stefan Löfven has publicly stated that he will advise companies operating in these areas on projects advancing sustainable development in its economic, social, and environmental dimensions. He will exercise complete choice on the projects he will provide advice on.
Alongside his PES role, Stefan Löfven is Chair of the Board of the Olof Palme Memorial Fund and Chair of the governing board of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In 2022, Löfven was appointed by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres as co-chair of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, a role he has now completed. In autumn 2022, he was one of seven resident fellows at the Harvard Institute of Politics.
The PES Spitzenkandidat is a decision for PES member parties and organisations, and the candidate will be elected through an open, transparent and democratic competitive process.
The PES is firmly committed to the fight against criminal activity in the European institutions and all areas of politics. We fully support the socialist Group in the European Parliament and its efforts for stronger institutional safeguards against criminality.“
My comment: End of story? Probably not.
Mats Engström 