Sweden Democrats attack public broadcaster
The national-conservative Sweden Democrats sought to bring the top management of Sweden's national broadcaster Sveriges Radio before Parliament to answer accusations that its coverage is not neutral. The move was rejected by the majority of the Riksdag. Sweden's media see press freedom at risk.
Un-Swedish nationalists
The Sweden Democrats are attacking an ultra-Swedish institution, Dagens Nyheter remarks sardonically:
“An ironic aspect of the attack launched by the nationalist conservative SD is that few institutions in our society are as genuinely Swedish as freedom of the press. When freedom of the press was passed in 1766 [in Sweden] it was the first law in the world to protect the written word. This law guarantees a safe distance between politicians and their critics. It has been criticised, repealed, reintroduced and written about, but it has been handed down through generations of legislators. Apart from being oversensitive, undemocratic and populist, the most recent attack can best be described as profoundly Un-Swedish.”
Rethinking conservative cooperation
The Christian Democrats and Conservatives should think very carefully about whether they really want to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats (SD) against the red-green minority government:
“ The SD isn't a party like any other. What complicates the situation is that they've established themselves as the largest party in the wake of the neglected migration and criminal policy. ... The Conservatives [M] and Christian Democrats [KD] must be vigilant. By the looks of things, they want to take power with the help of the SD. But the SD will make heavy demands of M and KD. That's why barriers are needed around the important policy issues to withstand pressure from the SD. ... It's one thing to normalise relations, but it's quite another to stop clearly protesting against its attacks.”