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JUHOLT

Explosive new memoir exposes Juholt exit

The circumstances surrounding the turbulent departure of Håkan Juholt as leader of Sweden's Social Democrats in 2012 have been exposed in a new tell-all memoir by his former speech-writer and adviser.

Explosive new memoir exposes Juholt exit
Håkan Juholt resigns in January 2012. Photo: TT
Former Social Democrat leader Håkan Juholt's resignation in January 2012, was prompted by an internal coup on the initiative of the current party secretary Carin Jämtin, Daniel Suhonen has claimed in a new book entitled "Partiledaren som klev in i kylan" (literally: The party leader who stepped into the cold).
 
Excerpts from the book were published by several media on Saturday. The book is is reportedly based on secret documents, private conversations and recorded calls from the Social Democrats' executive committee (VU). 
 
According to Suhonen, then the ill-fated party leader's clandestine adviser and speechwriter, Håkan Juholt was sent to a training centre in October 2011, officially to prepare the party leader debate.
 
In the meantime, the party's powerful executive committee gathered for a secret meeting at the HQ on Sveavägen in Stockholm. Present at the meeting were Jämtin, Mikael Damberg, Sven-Erik Österberg and Helene Fritzon. They were joined by Elvy Söderström on the phone. 
 
According to the claims in Suhonen's book, the meeting was called with the intention of dismissing Juholt but as Fritzon decline to agree to the plans, the senior Social Democrats decided instead to put pressure on Juholt to leave by his own volition.
 
Suhonen said to the Aftonbladet daily that the move was "a total mutiny" by the party's power elite.
 
Three months later, on 21 January 2012, Juholt resigned at a shopping centre in Oskarshamn. Jämtin responded to the announcement, telling the TT news agency that "Håkan Juholt took the decision himself. Everyone feels sad about this".
 
Jämtin has meanwhile declined to comment on the book.
 
According to the book other high-ranking party members were guilty of leaking information to the media with a view to damaging Håkan Juholt's credibility. 
 
At the time of Juholt's departure, current party leader and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven served as a deputy on the executive committee. Löfven told TV4 Nyhetsmorgon on Saturday that he was unwilling to comment on the events leading up to Juholt's political demise, or the book as he hadn't read it, he however confirmed that he was annoyed by the leaks.
 
"Irritated is an understatement," he said.

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