A Swedish Social Democrat candidate has been slammed by the Moderate Party and the populist Sweden Democrats for posting lies about their policies to migrants in Arabic-language social media posts.
The unnamed individual behind the posts is said to have been a candidate for the Social Democrats in the municipality of Sävsjö in the country of Jönköping. He posted a message in Arabic aimed at newly arrived Muslim migrants telling them the Moderates and Sweden Democrats planned to ship large numbers of migrants back to their homelands, Expressen reports.
Swedish Radio Broadcaster Launches Election Debates and Seminars… in Arabic https://t.co/X5dYiJtnbL
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 25, 2018
The post claimed that both parties were looking to ban all halal meat, close mosques, ban the Islamic veil for anyone under 18, close all Islamic schools, and even accuse Muslim parents of crimes so that the government would be able to take their children away.
“We ask all Swedes and especially those of immigrant backgrounds to vote for the Social Democrats or Left Party or at least the Green Party, as they are less harmful to immigrants and Muslims in particular,” the author of the post said.
The Social Democrats confirmed that the individual has since withdrawn his candidacy.
The Moderate Party in Jönköping County reacted with fury to the post and reported it to the police. Malin Wengholm, regional board chairman of the Moderates, said: “It is deeply worrying that a party conducts an election campaign by lying.”
Wengholm said Social Democrat leader and current Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (pictured, above) must get to the bottom of the issue.
“If this would turn out to be true, it’s obviously a big scandal. What one has to find out is what is true in this and how widespread it is. Löfven has several questions here that he has to get to the bottom of – as soon as possible,” she added.
Sweden goes to the polls in September — mass migration and crime continue to dominate public discourse https://t.co/JuDzR6sCBW
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 21, 2018
Populist Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson also pulled no punches on the issue saying: “Social Democrats are quick to blame others for fake news, but they are completely shameless. Their entire movement seems to be based on lying about other parties.”
Åkesson and the anti-mass migration SD are expected to greatly increase their number of seats in the Swedish parliament as polls have previously revealed the SD popular for their stances on issues such as immigration, a top concern for Swedish voters.
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