The letter is addressed to Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand (M), Robert Hannah (L) and Roland Utbult (KD).
In the letter, they are asked to follow the principle of arm's length distance, that is to say that the content and activities of cultural life must be independent of politics.
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- We are calling on the Riksdag parties to take responsibility for their government background and what is agreed in the Tidö Agreement in the parts that relate to culture, says Ulf Dernevik, secretary general of the County Museums' Cooperation Council.
Anna Troberg from DIK and Björn Orring from the Swedish Library Association have also signed the letter.
The sender of the letter criticizes several cases where they believe that the Sweden Democrats have violated the principle, or reinterpreted it, in the near future.
In an interview with Kulturnyheteren, SD's culture spokesperson Alexander Christiansson recently said the following about the term:
"The definition should mean that art is actually truly free.
But that as a politician I also have a space and an obligation towards my constituents to have opinions when there is art being produced that can be provocative.”
- They say that they stand for arm's length distance, but when these events occur, there is silence.
That's why we want to meet the government parties and tell them what consequences it risks having, says Dernevik.
The Minister of Culture: "I am surprised"
Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand (M) says she welcomes the content of the letter but disagrees with the government's alleged silence.
- I am a little surprised that the letter writers think that the government has been silent on this issue, she says and continues:
- From the time I took up this position, the concept of "arm's length distance" has been extremely present in virtually all of my commitments.
The Minister of Culture says that she is open to meeting the letter writers and that she sees it as positive that the issue is being discussed.
See more in the clip above.