Government recruitment shrouded in secrecy

In October, the minister responsible for the appointment procedure, Mats Odell (ChrDem) said in a Riksdag debate that “documents handed in by a candidate will of course be in the public domain”.

Just three days later, however, the trade ministry signed an agreement with a recruitment firm to find a new director general to head the state energy utility Svenska Kraftnät. The agreement included a non-disclsurere clause.

According to Mats Odell, this was a mistake that will not be repeated.

“It’s completely wrong, it goes against regulations,” he told TV4.

Details about the secrecy clause come just days after it was revealed that the government only had one candidate for the Svenska Kraftnät job, former Defence Minister Mikael Odenberg.

The opposition Social Democrats are charging the government with hypocrisy.

“When I check out what Mats Odell has said to me in debates it turns out to be something completely different,” said member of parliament Berit Andnor.