Now, Sweden’s Television is creating an exclusive travel program where CEO Anne Lagercrantz includes her husband, author David Lagercrantz, as a participant. All at the taxpayers’ expense. Critics within the media call the move ‘completely scandalous’.

The program is called ‘Vacation with Garplind’ and consists of six vacations with an equal number of wealthy celebrity profiles that host Christopher Garplind takes to an exclusive destination. According to SVT Play, the premiere episode is ‘Garplind and David Lagercrantz in Zermatt’.

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David Lagercrantz is married to Anne Lagercrantz, CEO of SVT, which has sparked strong criticism, questions of conflict of interest, and scrutiny of how taxpayers’ public service funds are managed, given that the Lagercrantz couple and several other participants are multimillionaires in the entertainment industry. One of the announced participants is pop singer Miriam Bryant, who earns 2-3 million SEK per year.

Host known for mocking the Sweden Democrats

Christopher Garplind, who leads SVT’s new initiative, is the former host on Sveriges Radio who, during an interview on P3, mocked the Sweden Democrats’ party leader Jimmie Åkesson for his weight and gambling addiction.

‘It was about what I expected from this crap channel I’m now part of,’ said Jimmie Åkesson after the interview with Garplind and continued:

‘If I were in charge here, I would have shut down P3 a long time ago. I think it’s left-liberal crap through and through.’

Costs, lifestyle, and signaling value

The exact cost of the new SVT production with Christopher Garplind at the helm is not disclosed. The state television writes that they ‘never disclose a breakdown of costs for a program’ for contractual and confidentiality reasons. This despite the fact that many believe that taxpayer funding should be accompanied by full transparency and accountability.

For comparison, a week for two people in the alpine village of Zermatt in Switzerland costs around 40,000–50,000 SEK. For a program with six trips – and a luxury focus – the sum becomes significant. Additionally, the travel cost represents only a small part of the production cost. There is a large team of employees from the state television who need to be paid, including host Garplind, who gets six luxurious vacation weeks in celebrity company paid for by taxpayers.

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Anne Lagercrantz has a monthly salary – also financed by taxpayers – of over 300,000 SEK. Husband David Lagercrantz has reportedly earned 100 million SEK from the lucrative assignment of writing sequels to Stieg Larsson’s internationally bestselling Millennium novels. The couple belongs to the economic elite in Sweden.

Flying shame for viewers – flights for celebrities

The criticism also revolves around the program being marketed as for ‘celebrities who have had a lot on their plate and need a break.’ It is argued that there are many other hard-working Swedes in low-paying jobs who would have a greater need for a break and lack the financial means to afford one, but now, through their tax dollars, are forced to help finance luxury trips for wealthy celebrities who are feeling a bit tired.

The criticism is further deepened by the fact that the program includes a large number of flights – and it is hardly cheap charter flights. In an article in DN about the hosting assignment, Garplind admits that ‘there was a lot of flying,’ much more than he had expected.

However, by allowing ordinary Swedes to experience his flying through the TV screen and by ‘being their eyes out there,’ Garplind believes he has done the Swedish people a service and freed them from the flying shame they would have felt if they had made the trips themselves.

Nevertheless, the travel program strongly contrasts with the recurring message from SVT’s climate editorial team that Swedes must transition to what they call a sustainable travel and lifestyle. One standard for ordinary people, another for the elite.

Journalist raises questions for SVT

Journalist Joakim Lamotte, who has previously worked at SVT, is one of those who has directed harsh criticism at the setup.

‘When I see how the company has evolved… I am ashamed on behalf of Anne Lagercrantz. Treating her own husband to a vacation with taxpayers’ money… is a mockery of every Swede struggling to make ends meet,’ he writes on his own website.

He believes that there are several important fundamental questions for SVT to answer: Where is the line between ‘production for program purposes’ and ‘luxury vacation’? How has conflict of interest and impartiality been handled when the CEO’s husband participates? Why are the costs not disclosed – and how are they justified in a company that claims to need to save? How is climate responsibility reconciled with extensive flights and luxury destinations?

At the time of writing, the SVT management has left all of these questions unanswered.

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