It was in May that the trade association Länsmuseernas cooperation council and the chairman of 21 county museums in a debate article published in the newspaper Metro went to a severe attack on Sweden's cultural policy and how cultural grants are distributed regionally.

The museums described themselves as the "big losers of the state's cultural policy" and demanded increased government grants, something the Cultural News has previously reported.

Appropriations are listed, but wages increase

According to the article authors, the appropriations during the last term of the mandate have been calculated by one per cent per year, while wages on average have increased by 2.5 per cent. This has led to the county museums being forced to terminate almost one in ten employees between 2003 and 2017, according to a report from the Swedish Agency for Cultural Analysis.

Now, the County Council's cooperation council, in an open letter addressed to the Ministry of Culture, once again warns of cuts. More than every third county museum will have to cut staff 2020, they write.

“The economic conditions of the county museums are no longer reasonable. The budgets are in many ways eroded. Underfunding has been going on for many years but now it feels like we are in a dead end. Worst, the state has been compensating for inflation and wage growth. Now we send an emergency signal to the state and the regions. Raise basic funding, ”Jonas Hellberg (S), chairman of the County Museums Cooperation Council, calls for in a press release.

"A serious situation"

According to the county councils cooperation council, the museums are in a serious situation that both jeopardizes the museums' ability to achieve the goals in the museum law as well as the quality of their collections.

“Apart from layoffs, the museums' collections of historical objects and buildings do not risk getting the care and protection that is required. I do not exaggerate if I claim that our cultural heritage is in many places threatened to be destroyed for future generations, ”says Jonas Hellberg.

Culture News is seeking Minister of Culture Amanda Lind (MP) for a comment.