Culture is threatened by right-wing politics, not by the red-greens

The election campaign is entering the final stretch. As ordered, a cheeky male entrepreneur then steps forward and threatens to flee the country if the red-greens win. This weekend, Spotify founder Martin Lorentzon had to portray the disaster scenario on Expressen's debate pages.

In his text, Lorentzon - good for just over 100 billion - tries to come across as reasonable, he mumbles cozily about the fact that taxes are good. But the very tax that hits him hardest – the wealth tax – doesn't really feel necessary.

That a tech billionaire dislikes wealth tax is no surprise. Equally expected was that L leader Simona Mohamsson used the outburst as a political bat. On X she wrote:

"I hate being right. Without the Liberals, things will go to hell. Dadgostar's gang will drive the music out of Sweden."

Who does that, really?

No government has hated culture as much as our current one. Under the leadership of Parisa Liljestrand, everything has been done to stifle its vitality. Then it's not even about the open contempt for film workers or how many Ruben Östlund books Liljestrand has read, it's about the concrete politics.

In 2025, the number of rehearsal rooms at the student unions had decreased by almost 15 percent in three years, as an effect of Tidö's cutback policy. Contributions to the said association have also decreased sharply. The latest cultural budget corresponded to a paltry 0.62% of the total state budget.

The effects are far worse than a poorer selection on Simona Mohamsson's New music friday list.

If Tidö wins on Sunday, how many rehearsal rooms, study unions and folk high schools, these inalienable platforms for future cultural creators, will even be left in four years? The document Tidö 2.0, signed by the right-wing think tanks Oikos and Timbro, gives a clue:

"Phase out the state support for public education. /…/ The Folkbildningsrådet is disbanded and the state support for student unions is gradually phased out."

It actually says so.

In addition, Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer wants to circumvent freedom of expression by preventing Swedish hip-hop artists from making money.

It is the government - and no one else - that is causing culture to disappear in Sweden.

That the bourgeoisie ignores culture is nothing new, in the extremely moderate municipality where I grew up, people mostly listened to Swedish House Mafia. Music is only good when it means the right kind of revenue. This is why the right loves the Swedish music wonder (as long as the Swedish music wonder doesn't urge his Instagram followers to vote red).

And that is why Mohamsson is responsible for the incredibly piquant mistake of equating Spotify with music. The streaming giant that, with its monopoly-like position, stands for lousy compensations, that releases AI artists and donates money to Donald Trump. Lorentzon's companion Daniel Ek has also invested his acquired money in weapons development.

Here is your music, Simona Mohamsson. And it is your government – ​​no one else – that is causing the culture to disappear in Sweden.