Hägglund takes election fight to the jungle

As part of the Christian Democrat campaign featuring a 13 point programme “for a more humane Sweden”, voters are set to be treated to a series of posters featuring Hägglund boldly staring into the eyes of a buffalo, a gorilla, a hyena, and an ostrich.

“The campaign presents Göran Hägglund taking up the fight for a more humane Sweden. We have been in power for four years and are proud over a lot of things – but just because things have improved does not mean that everyone is well off,” said the party’s communication head Cina Gerdin to The Local on Tuesday.

Gerdin explained that the party opted to use typical metaphors for the fabled characteristics of animals to illustrate “egotistical” behaviour which the party feels is spreading in Swedish society and argued that “the law of the jungle should not prevail”.

“With the hyena we want to show that greed is not rewarded, with the ostrich that one should not put your head in the sand in the face of problems, the buffalo that you can’t get ahead with loutish behaviour, and the gorilla to show that threats do not pay.”

Party secretary Lennart Sjögren explained at the launch of the campaign on Tuesday that many people regard the Christian Democrats as a “nice, kind party” and that the posters are designed to show a tougher side to party leader Göran Hägglund.

“It is an ideological campaign. It is a tougher, less orthodox political campaign” Cina Gerdin told The Local.