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SOCIAL DEMOCRATS

Bodström slams Social Democrats over Mustafa

Former justice minister Thomas Bodström has roundly criticised his party the Social Democrats, arguing that the Omar Mustafa affair was handled poorly and that the party is outdated and undemocratic.

Bodström slams Social Democrats over Mustafa

“Once again the Social Democratic Party has managed to back itself into a corner… Had it been handled correctly from the beginning it needn’t have been damaging, but instead led to an exciting and very necessary debate,” Bodström wrote in the Svenska Dagbladet daily on Saturday.

The former minister argued that one reason for the party’s current plight is its introversion.

He furthermore argued that nothing would be achieved by resignations, referring to pressure applied to Veronica Palm, head of the party in Stockholm, the region responsible for nominating Omar Mustafa to the executive board.

“The problem is not whether Veronica Palm has done something wrong… No, the problem is that the Social Democrats still have a deeply undemocratic working method with an utter lack of transparency.”

The criticism comes as the Social Democrats are set to hold their annual general meeting, including the election of a leader and executive board.

Commentators forecast that the meeting is set to be a stormy one.

Despite calls from within the party for Veronica Palm’s resignation, the nomination committee stands behind the proposal to extend her tenure for a further year.

Party veteran Ylva Johansson has been regularly named as a potential replacement for Palm but she has said that she doesn’t want to challenge for the post.

The Omar Mustafa affair came to a climax on Tuesday when he claimed in a press conference that the party had given in to Islamophobic forces and media pressure.

Veronica Palm has previously stated that Omar Mustafa resigned from the executive board because he had not taken a tough enough stance against the extreme opinions of speakers at events arranged by the Islamic Association, where he is chair.

TT/The Local/pvs Follow The Local on Twitter

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