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SWEDEN DEMOCRATS

Top Sweden Democrat faces sack after criticism

One of the Sweden Democrats most high profile local politicians is facing expulsion from the party after criticising the leadership.

Allan Jönsson from Bjuv in southern Sweden stands to be kicked out of the party, according to a report in Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD).

Jönsson has previously criticised the party executive for being too dominant and for drawing excessive remuneration over and above their MP salaries. Furthermore Jönsson has argued that the party places too much focus on the immigration issue.

The party hierarchy has now tired of Jönsson’s outspoken approach and the membership committee has commenced a process of expulsion, the newspaper reported.

The committee denies that the Sweden Democrats do not allow critical debate within their ranks, arguing instead that the criticism has to be conducted internally and that the media is not the forum to “smear fellow party members”.

Bjuv in Skåne is one of 30 municipalities where the Sweden Democrats hold the balance of power. At the 2010 election the party won 19.6 percent of the votes and six seats, the highest showing for the party in a local election.

Allan Jönsson personally received the most electoral votes among the candidates on the party list.

Jönsson will be given a chance to respond to the expulsion process, which will be completed with a decision on his future in June.

The popular local politician is however unrepentant and denied that his comments have damaged the party.

“No they have managed that better themselves,” he told HD without naming the individuals to which he was referring.

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POLITICS

Sweden Democrat leader calls for ‘reevaluation’ of Swedish EU membership

The leader of the Sweden Democrats reawakened the spectre of Swexit – Sweden leaving the European Union – on Tuesday penning a debate article which called for a reevaluation of membership.

Sweden Democrat leader calls for 'reevaluation' of Swedish EU membership

“With ever increasing instances of far-reaching gesture politics, EU membership is starting to become dangerous like a straitjacket which we have no choice but to simply accept and adapt to,” Åkesson wrote in an opinion piece in the Aftonbladet newspaper

“This means that German, Polish or French politicians can in practice decide over which car you are going to be allowed to buy, how expensive your petrol should be, or which tree you should be allowed to cut down on your own land.” 

As a result, he said there are “good reasons to properly reevaluate our membership of the union”.  

In the run-up to the UK’s Brexit referendum in 2016, the Sweden Democrats called frequently for Sweden to follow the British example and hold a renegotiation of its relationship with the EU followed by an in-out referendum. 

But in 2019, as the UK struggled to negotiate a satisfactory departure agreement, Åkesson changed his position saying that he now hoped to change the European Union from within

In his article on Tuesday, Åkesson said that power was continually being ceded from Sweden to Brussels. 

“The more that happens, the more the will of the people as reflected in parliamentary results is going to be less and less relevant,” her said. “Our Swedish elections are going to soon become irrelevant to Sweden’s development, and of course, we can’t let that happen.”

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