The real reason why Portugal attracts thousands of retired Swedes

 

In Portugal, hard-working politicians are known to dedicate nearly around-the-clock hours to their responsibilities, often extending their work even during lunchtime. This practice is exemplified by cases like the city council of Oeiras, which has just been known to have spent 139,000 euros on expenses labeled as 'working lunches'.

Invoices submitted by the mayor of Oeiras (Isaltino Morais) and his team show massive consumption of lobster, oysters, suckling pig, tiger prawns, pata negra ham, tobacco, wine, aphrodisiac sake, brandy, Moët & Chandon https://www.sabado.pt/portugal/detalhe/oeiras-ja-gastou-139-mil-euros-em-1441-almocos-de-trabalho

In absolute contrast, Sweden struggles to attract good candidates to politics, because the strict regulations surrounding the use of public funds, even for minor expenses like purchasing simple chocolate bars, can lead to potential resignations https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/14/world/stockholm-journal-the-shame-of-a-swedish-shopper-a-morality-tale.html

Perhaps this is a contributing factor to the substantial influx of thousands of Swedes moving to Portugal. It is plausible that a sizable number among them have aspirations to pursue a career in (extremely well-fed) Portuguese politics https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2021-11-29/portugal-a-new-trend-for-swedish-retirees/63835

PS - In 2009, Isaltino Morais was sentenced to a 7-year jail sentence, but after his lawyers handed over 44 appeals, the sentence was reduced to just 14 months, which he served between April 2013 and June 2014. Convicted for tax fraud and money laundering, he escaped charges of corruption due to the statute of limitations, as the alleged "incident" occurred in 1996. Surprisingly, in 2017 he was again elected Mayor of Oeiras and in 2021 he was re-elected to the same position. This means that those who elected and re-elected him do not care that in the very same country whose minimum monthly amount of pensions under the general Social Security scheme is less than 200 euros, there are politicians spending thousands of euros on "work lunches". In 2010, Brazil enacted Law n. 135, better known as the Clean Record Law. This law renders ineligible for eight years politicians who have their mandate revoked, resign to avoid revocation, or are convicted. Unfortunately, there is no such law in Portugal, which means that in this country convicted politicians (like Isaltino Morais) can run for office repeatedly.