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Two explosions shake Gothenburg

Police in Gothenburg continue their search for suspects believed to be involved with two separate explosions that rocked different parts of the city on Sunday night.

Published: 16 March 2009 06:46 CET
Two explosions shake Gothenburg

The first blast occurred shortly before 11pm on Sunday near a police car which was out on patrol in the city’s Hvitfeldtsplatsen neighbourhood.

Police suspected that someone may have thrown a hand grenade at the vehicle.

“Colleagues in the car think so, judging from the strength of the explosion and now we’re looking for fragments in the area,” said Johan Ljung of the Gothenburg police to the TT news agency.

Shortly after midnight, another blast occurred in a public toilet near Kungsparken, close to the Stora teatern theatre.

The explosion was thought to be of roughly the same strength as the evening’s first blast.

“The blast was of equal power, so it seems as if both incidents are related. Which makes one think it could have been a coincidence that a police car was in the area when the explosion occurred. It can also be a diversionary tactic for something else taking place,” said Per Mattson of the Gothenburg police to TT.

Police still don’t know what sort of explosive material was used in either blast and both areas remained blocked off through the night while police conducted investigations.

Following the first explosion, police said they believed two assailants between 25 and 30-years-old were involved.

No one was injured in either explosion.

POLITICS

Red-green coalition takes power in Gothenburg

The Social Democrats, Green Party and Left Party have managed to oust the right-wing Moderates from power in Gothenburg, despite failing to strike a coalition deal with the Centre Party.

Published: 28 October 2022 15:34 CEST
Red-green coalition takes power in Gothenburg

The Social Democrats, Left Party and Green Party will now take over the municipality with Jonas Attenius, group leader for the Social Democrats in the city, becoming the new mayor.

“We three parties are ready to together take responsibility for leading Gothenburg,” Attenius wrote to TT. “I am looking forward immensely to leading Gothenburg in the coming years.” 

The three parties will lead a minority government, with 40 out of 81 mandates, meaning it will dependent on mandates from the Centre Party to pass proposals. 

The three parties had hoped to bring the Centre Party into the coalition, but talks fell apart on Monday,  October 24th. 

“We our going into opposition, but our goal is to be an independent, liberal force, which can negotiate both to the left and to the right,” the party’s group leader in Gothenburg, Emmyly Bönfors told the Göteborgs-Posten newspaper. 

The end of talks in Gothenburg leave the Social Democrats leading coalition governments in all three of Sweden’s major cities, with Karin Wanngård appointed Mayor of Stockholm on October 17th. 

The Social Democrats had unbroken control in Malmö since 1994, after they regained power from the Moderates, who controlled the city from 1991-1994, and also from 1985-1988. 

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