Swedish Municipalities Propose Reducing Political Positions to Cut Costs and Boost Efficiency

Several Swedish municipalities are considering reductions in the number of elected political officials as part of efforts to streamline governance and achieve significant cost savings.

In Vimmerby, a new proposed political organization aims to reduce the municipal council size from 49 to 45 members, marking the first reduction since 1971. The education and social committees will shrink from nine to seven members each, while the municipal executive committee will decrease from 11 to nine members. This restructuring, which also removes a previously proposed service committee due to limited workload, intends to create a more effective decision-making body without surpassing budget limits. Leif Larsson (C), chairman of Vimmerby’s democratic committee, highlighted that the same work can be handled with fewer council members, and emphasized cross-party support for the proposal, which will be voted on in January.

Similarly, Karlskrona is revisiting a proposal to reduce the number of council members, estimated to save the municipality between 1.1 and 1.2 million kronor annually. Currently, the municipality pays over one million kronor more than necessary yearly due to an excess number of politicians. If the reduction is not implemented, Karlskrona risks incurring costs of approximately 4.4 to 4.8 million kronor over one mandate period.

These initiatives reflect a growing trend among Swedish municipalities to reassess political structures in the interest of fiscal responsibility and governance efficiency, especially ahead of upcoming elections and budget cycles.