Swedish Populists Land Chairmanships of Major Parliamentary Committees

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - SEPTEMBER 27: Sweden Democrats Party leader Jimmie Akesson attends the
David Lidstrom/Getty Images
Chris Tomlinson

Following their strong election showing, the populist Sweden Democrats have landed the chairmanship of several important parliamentary committees including justice and foreign affairs.

The Sweden Democrats (SD) have been able to secure the chairman position in the labour market committee, the business committee, the justice committee, and the foreign affairs committee, while also receiving the vice-chairmanship of the civil committee, the traffic committee, the defence committee, and the tax committee.

Many on the Swedish left, however, have expressed displeasure that the populist party has been given the chair of so many important committees, the newspaper Expressen reports.

“So a far-right party that could not choose between Putin and Biden should lead the foreign affairs committee and the defence committee. There is nothing that can go wrong in this,” Green Party spokeswoman Märta Stenevi remarked sarcastically.

Per Boland, another Green Party MP, concurred: “That the party that cannot choose between Putin and Biden should lead the foreign affairs committee does not feel great. And that the party that has completed the most criminal suspects on the lists should take the justice committee? Experience in the field is usually an asset, but…”

While the Sweden Democrats came second in the national election on September 11th, it is expected that the so-called centre-right Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson will become Sweden’s next prime minister.

However, it is unclear with the Sweden Democrats, who were loosely allied with the Moderates, the Liberals, and the Christian Democrats prior to the election, will be a formal part of a new coalition government and receive posts in government ministries.

Just days after the election, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson was spotted visiting the offices of the Moderates in Stockholm, fueling some speculation the populist party could be directly involved in a coalition.

Outgoing Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson, the leader of the leftist Social Democrats, discussed possible cooperation with the Moderates during her resignation speech — as a way to keep the Sweden Democrats from power.

“I have informed the Speaker that if the Moderates should change their mind and want to cooperate with me instead of with the Sweden Democrats, my door is open to Ulf Kristersson,” Andersson said.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

 

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