Minister Benjamin Dousa used school visit for party propaganda

I am employed at a small secondary school in Värmland with vocational orientations, a position that I share with a half-time assignment as a municipal councilor in my home municipality.

On Wednesday, this school was visited by the minister of aid and foreign trade, Benjamin Dousa (M). The visit was planned at short notice, which these can be occasionally. The school has had ministerial visits in the past, where the interest and focus was on our educations and the students' opportunities for jobs and more.

However, this was apparently not the intention of Wednesday's visit. A room had been set up for about 50 students in grades 1 and 2. In addition to the headmaster and principals, we were a handful of teachers present during the hour-long visit.

Judge my surprise when the minister spent most of his time making election propaganda for his party the Moderates. Not only did he speak well of his party, a number of boots were also distributed to other parties – of course only those that are not part of the Tidö collaboration.

My high school is careful about the social mission and our democratic values.

As a minister, you primarily represent the government and the Swedish people, the party comes second. The school and its principal, the municipality, had expected the visit to be about a minister's everyday life and what tasks are connected to it, but only a small part of the visit was taken up by this. The majority of the time was moderate election propaganda.

My high school is careful about the social mission and our democratic values. Every four years, we invite the youth associations of all parties that have representation in the Riksdag to an election debate. The students can ask questions to the invited representatives, in true democratic spirit.

I can understand if the Moderates feel desperation like this in the eleventh hour of the election campaign. but for Benjamin Dousa to abuse his ministerial office in this way, I consider it worrisome.

The question is whether this was a strategy planned by the party or whether Dousa acted on his own. Regardless, this is not good for democracy.

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