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Sweden postpones introduction of tougher measures against extremism

The parliamentary political parties in Sweden agree that state subsidies to organizations linked to extremism must be stopped. But the implementation of stricter rules is now being postponed.

Published: 12 November 2022 11:06 CET
Swedish parliament
The new government does not want to adopt the bill which the previous government put forward in August. Photo by Oscar Nord / Unsplash

“There have been objections from various quarters,” Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed says.

The Swedish government is withdrawing the bill on stricter requirements linked to democratic values for civil society groups and religious communities.

The bill aimed to tighten the rules so that no public funds go to anti-democratic forces or violent extremism.

Agreement on the issue was reached in the Swedish parliament (Riksdag) already in 2015. However, despite multiple proposals being presented, there is still no legislation in place.

The new government does not want to adopt the bill which the previous government put forward in August.

“It is the previous government’s bill. There have been objections to it from various quarters. The government is withdrawing it in order to prepare the issue further,” Forssmed told the news agency TT.

Concerns

According to the Minister of Social Affairs, the bill has caused concerns.

“It has raised a number of questions regarding proportionality and other things in relation to civil society organizations and how well the proposal fits them,” he added.

He will now meet representatives of civil society to keep the dialogue going.

Today, the requirement to receive grants is that the organization “contributes to maintaining and strengthening the values ​​on which society rests.”

The bill was supposed to add a number of additional requirements, such as limits and bans on funding in cases where organizations or representatives exercise violence and coercion, make threats, violate fundamental freedoms and rights, or oppose democratic governance.

Several new requirements

In its consultation response, the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) has stated that a relatively large number of organizations with connections to extremist environments receive public funds.

Säpo has warned that such a situation could contribute to increased radicalization in Sweden, as well as violent environments attracting more people in the future.

“It is still important to the government that organizations that engage in activities that promote extremism or undermine democracy do not receive state funds. But we need to make further preparations,” Forssmed told TT.

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POLITICS

Swedish PM won’t end Sweden Democrats collaboration over ‘troll factory’

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has no plans to break off the government's collaboration with the Sweden Democrats, he told a press conference, after an undercover investigation revealed that the party had been running a so-called "troll factory".

Published: 22 May 2024 17:24 CEST
Swedish PM won't end Sweden Democrats collaboration over 'troll factory'

During a press conference following a party leader debate in parliament, Kristersson, from the Moderates, was asked whether he, as prime minister, would put any pressure on the Sweden Democrats to stop using the anonymous accounts, which had been used to spread content of benefit to the party and degrade its political opponents.

He replied saying that he cannot make demands or take responsibility for the actions of the Sweden Democrats’ communications department.

“If your real question is: ‘Do you want to stop working together to solve Sweden’s major problems because I have strong objections to smear campaigns in Swedish politics’, then the answer is no,” he said.

He did, however, say that he had discussed the issue with Åkesson both in public and in private.

“[I’ve told him] that I dislike smear campaigns, that they need to answer legitimate questions put to them by the media, political opponents and coalition partners. And that I dislike anonymous accounts.”

He added that the Sweden Democrats should “moderate their tone”.

The Sweden Democrats had not only been using the accounts to smear opposition parties, but also the governing coalition of the Liberals, Moderates and Christian Democrats, which the party provides its support to under the Tidö Agreement, named after the castle where it was drawn up.

The Tidö Agreement includes a clause requiring all four parties to “speak respectfully” about each other.

In one clip from the Kalla Fakta documentary revealing the existence of the troll factory, Sweden Democrat communications head Joakim Wallerstein tells the group of troll factory workers to “find shit” on the Christian Democrats’ top candidate for the EU parliament, Alice Teodorescu Måwe, while others make fun of Liberal leader Johan Pehrson.

In another, one of the employees in the troll factory discusses what type of music to use when he should “shit on” the Moderates.

Anti-racism magazine Expo also reported that the Sweden Democrats had used their anonymous accounts to share white power material.

Since Kalla Fakta’s documentary was released, Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson has responded by claiming that Swedish media are carrying out their own campaign against his party, calling the documentary part of a “domestic smear campaign from the left-liberal establishment”.

LISTEN: Uncovering a Sweden Democrat troll factory

Kristersson did not wish to comment on Åkesson’s response, but he disagreed that Swedish media and political parties are carrying out a smear or influence campaign.

“I definitely perceive influence operations from other countries, and we often feed back to you [the media] and tell you what we know about those things. I obviously do not perceive any influence operations from parties, media or anyone else in Sweden.”

As far as Åkesson’s claims that Kalla Fakta had “infiltrated” the Sweden Democrats, Kristersson said that it would be “completely foreign to me to interfere with how free media operate in a free democracy”.

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