The competent cabinet? Ministers in Sweden and the problem of competence and democracy

The competence of Cabinet members in general, and of Swedish Cabinet members in particular, is frequently put into doubt despite the fact that little systematic research exists on the topic. The meaning of 'competence' in this context is of course controversial. This study is confined to the occurrence of 'expertise': indicators of professional experience from the subject areas for which the minister is responsible. The sample includes 182 Swedish Cabinet appointments from 1917 to 2004, covering the full range of ministers concerned with economic and social affairs. The indicators used include previous political experience from the relevant policy field as well as relevant educational and professional backgrounds. When these measures are used, the resulting pattern is that few government ministers are truly amateurs at the time of entering the Cabinet. Moreover, there are few signs that the level of expertise so understood has undergone any dramatic changes during the time period. These results speak against the views endorsed by some scholars that 'the problem of power of politicians is power without competence'. If it is true that political experience has the potential to breed expertise in particular policy fields, it cannot also be true that the recruitment of full-time politicians as Cabinet Ministers indicates the absence of expertise.