Almost anywhere in the world, politicians are treated with the utmost respect. They are given cars with private drivers or for some luxury houses, they always have bodyguards around them, they are protected at all cause whenever they are out and even their pay is super high.
For some countries, however, these privileges are not applicable to politicians and they are treated just like every other normal citizen. Hard to believe? But that’s the fact!
Picture: Reuters
Sweden is a wonderful country because it regards those who utilize public transportation as ordinary individuals. While the rest of the world’s leaders use cars, the fact that one country’s leaders are just like you and me breaks the barrier that exists between the government and its people. Unnecessary costs are reduced significantly, allowing public funds to be spent more wisely.
As intriguing as it may sound, in 2019, Sweden’s politicians do not get any special treatment or benefits, and they live in the same conditions as the rest of the country’s population. Swedish ministers and MPs travel in public buses and trains because they do not have official cars or private drivers. They can be tried in a court of law like any other individual because they have no right to parliamentary immunity. Their bare-bones legislative offices, with no private secretaries at the door, are as small as 8m2.
Picture: The Wired
They commute to work using public transportation such as buses and trains. Yes, this means they’ll have to rub elbows with everyone else, particularly during peak hours.
As a matter of fact, only the Prime Minister, however, has the privilege of using a car provided by the security forces on a permanent basis. Not only that but politicians who dare to spend public funds on taxi rides rather than taking the train wind up in the news. Even the Speaker of Parliament is issued a public transportation pass.
Politicians also do not make a lot of money, as their wages are just roughly twice that of an elementary school teacher.
At the municipal level, it is considerably lower because Swedish councilors do not get a salary or have an office; instead, they operate from home. Sweden is a country without distinctions, as its public officials are treated as ordinary citizens with no special advantages.
This is a country that respects its politicians and government officials as ordinary citizens. A country was devoid of “excellencies” and other formal titles. In this civilization, formal pronouns were removed in the 1960s, and everyone is addressed as “you.” Because nobody is superior to anyone else in the Swedish value system. Not even politicians, who are supposed to live in the same conditions as the people who elect them.
Sources: Mail & Guardian, LMD, Nepal Democracy, GH Gossip, IOL
