After six months as Centerpartiet leader, Anna-Karin Hatt plans to claim her severance package worth up to 1.6 million kronor. The payout matches her previous salary of 223,000 kronor per month for seven months. New leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist will earn a lower 161,000 kronor monthly.
Anna-Karin Hatt assumed the role of Centerpartiet leader but stepped down after just six months. She announced her resignation in mid-October, citing hate and threats as factors that affected her more than expected. On Thursday, at the party's congress, Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist was elected as the new leader.
Hatt had the highest salary among party leaders, 223,000 kronor per month, exceeding Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's income. Under Centerpartiet's rules, she is entitled to full salary for up to seven months as severance, totaling about 1.6 million kronor. This is confirmed by the party's press service, following an initial SVT report mentioning up to one year.
In an interview with SVT Nyheter, Hatt stated she plans to claim the severance until she finds a new job. “I need a transition period to settle into a new reality. I don't have any new assignment lined up. I will be entitled to severance pay as long as there is a need for it,” she explained. She added that she does not intend to take more than necessary and is seeking a new societally important role.
“It is a decision made by the congress on the nomination committee's proposal. I am of course grateful for the opportunity to transition and settle into a new existence. This was nothing I had planned,” Hatt said.
The new leader Thand Ringqvist's salary is 161,000 kronor per month, equivalent to a minister's pay. “I think a cabinet minister's salary, like an ordinary minister's salary, is completely reasonable. It's the members' money and I tend to be cautious with money,” she told Expressen. The bill for Hatt's parachute is footed by the party's members.