I have no interest in the royal house and do not read articles about the king or watch TV shows about him. Listening to the king’s speeches at events, such as the ceremonial opening of the Riksdag, bores me, and my mind wanders to other topics. I feel embarrassed in front of uncritical journalists and historians who produce flattering reports about the king.
The royal palace is an outdated relic of the pre-democratic era. It is unreasonable that the mission of being Sweden’s head of state is inherited within the Bernadotte family and not appointed through democratic elections.
Mikael Holmqvist’s book, “The King – Sweden’s Leader,” is part of a series about Sweden’s elites and how they are constructed. Pity and gratitude arise from reading his book. Holmqvist had to endure reading through vast amounts of monotonous programs, speeches, invitations, medal presentations, and articles by and about the king. Yet, he completely ignores the king’s personal life and instead focuses on the king’s role as head of state.
The king has considerable informal power, which he can use to elevate and give others “royal glory.” However, the royal coverage is dominated by entertainment editors rather than political reporters. Holmqvist’s book offers a systematic analysis of the king’s actions from a power perspective.
The king of business is most notably his elevating and praising of directors and capital owners. He is the king of big business and, above all, the king of the Wallenberg family. The economic power elite is unique for having direct access to the king, and he highlights them as role models for society.
The court constructs the image of the king systematically. Critical journalists are not allowed access, and uncritical journalists are rewarded. The king’s environmentally friendly image does not match his lifestyle with many air trips and a great interest in motorsport. The National Audit Office does not audit the royal family’s finances, so principle of publicity does not apply here.
The king is upper class and can lend his brilliance to confirm and elevate others to the upper class. There is no doubt about whom he chooses primarily: the country’s economic elite. This helps consolidate and confirm the economic system that concentrates power and wealth in just a few families.
Holmqvist’s review may fuel the debate about whether Sweden should retain the monarchy or become a republic. The natural solution to this question is to privatize the royal house and transform it into a company. Companies that believe the king does good for them can finance dinners and medals. In turn, the king can continue to work as usual, while the rest of us choose a president for Sweden.
COMMENT. I’ll admit it right away, I’m completely uninterested in the royal house. I never read articles about the king, watch no TV shows. With effort I can remember the names of the king’s children, but don’t ask me about the grandchildren.
When I had to listen to the king’s bland speech at the ceremonial opening of the Riksdag, my thoughts invariably wandered to my family’s plans for the weekend or shopping for today’s dinner.
In front of the journalists and historians who carry out uncritical and flattering reports about the king, I mainly feel secondary shame.
The royal palace is an untimely relic from a pre-democratic era. How unreasonable is it that the mission as Sweden’s head of state is inherited within the Bernadotte family, not appointed through democratic elections?
Pity and gratitude
Mikael Holmqvist has previously written notable books about Djursholm and the School of Economics. The book The King – Sweden’s leader if the king will be the third part in the series about Sweden’s elites and how they are constructed.
After reading it, I feel both pity and gratitude for the author’s deed.
Pity because he has painstakingly plowed through enormous amounts of monotonous programs, speeches, invitations, medal presentations and articles by and about the King. He has read shelves full of tributes, how boring must that have been?
Gratitude that he completely ignores the king’s private life and instead focuses on the king’s role as head of state.
For once, a systematic analysis of the king’s actions is made from a power perspective, not a report for pleasure reading about the royal family’s fortunes and misfortunes. Because even if the king largely lacks formal political power according to our constitutions, he has considerable informal power, not least by being able to elevate and give others “royal glory”.
Covered by entertainment reporters
The royal coverage is carried out by entertainment editors, not political reporters. A few exceptions exist such as when the king questioned the order of succession or expressed his sympathy for Brunei’s dictator.
But no one has previously done the systematic analysis of the king’s role that Holmqvist does.
A clear picture emerges from the careful review. Our head of state is more than anything else the king of business.
He lifts up and praises directors and capital owners. He hunts with, distributes arrangements, eats dinner and travels with the small group of powerful men who make up Sweden’s economic power elite. He is the king of big business, and most of all he is the king of the Wallenberg family.
The King – Sweden’s leader by Mikael Holmqvist (Nature and Culture).
Leadership ideals for the market society
The economic power elite like no other has direct access to the king. He constantly speaks uncritically about and highlights them as role models for our society.
As a common thread through the king’s speech, he highlights a leadership ideal tailored to fit market society and the ideals of capitalism.
It also characterizes the speeches addressed to the more ordinary citizens, but then the tone is more encouraging and sometimes moralizing.
During the king’s first year as regent, Tom Wachtmeister was the first court marshal, he probably had a great influence on the monarch’s development. Wachtmeister, who previously worked for the Wallenberg company Atlas Copco, lived in Djursholm and was educated at the business school.
Regardless of whether it is about important employees at court, companions on state visits or invited to hunt, it is the type of capital-owning male elite that is the king’s entourage. It’s the people he hangs out with, it’s their values he shares.
Systematically constructed image
Through the book, I gained respect for how systematically the court constructed the image. Uncritical journalists are rewarded, critical ones are not allowed access.
The king’s environmentally friendly image is used to try to create a more popular image of the monarch. But his own lifestyle with many air trips and great interest in motorsport can hardly be called particularly environmentally friendly.
Commitment to the scouts is also used for image building. But even there, the commitment is permeated by uncritical faith in the leadership ideals of market society.
Critical thinking is not highlighted, instead it is positive thinking and praise of entrepreneurs.
The king likes to visit industries and talk about innovations, but seems to be moderately interested in culture or social issues.
It also becomes clear how the court functions and is run as a business to a significant extent. Despite the fact that it is about Sweden’s head of state, insight into the royal family’s finances is limited. The principle of publicity does not apply here, and the National Audit Office does not carry out any audits.
This makes it easier to build up an image of the king as “the king of the whole of Sweden”, even though his actions seem mostly to be the king of the whole of Swedish Business.
Obviously upper class
That the king is upper class is a matter of course. But he is unique because, as king, he can also lend his brilliance to confirm and elevate others to the upper class. There is no doubt about who he then primarily chooses – the country’s economic elite.
In this way, the king helps to consolidate and confirm the economic system that concentrates so much power and wealth in a few powerful individuals and families.
Nurture to become a republic
Holmqvist’s review can also fuel the debate about whether Sweden should retain the monarchy or introduce a republic. The king seems to share the ideals and values of the directors.
He helps the companies to “open doors”, whether it is about trade with Finland or getting the Saudi Royal House in a good mood. He appoints companies as royal court suppliers. He seems to enjoy himself best in the company of directors.
The natural solution to the question of Sweden’s state would therefore be to privatize the royal house and convert it into a company.
It is also “in time” as the king’s election language says. Perhaps the monarchy can become a joint-stock company with Investor as the main owner, but where ordinary royalist citizens can each buy their B share.
The companies that think the king does so much good for them can be paid sponsorship money to finance dinners and medals. The king himself could work on as usual.
So the rest of us can choose a president for the whole of Sweden.