– For many people with a background in the Middle East, the Palestine issue can be the only decisive question for whom to vote for, says Inas Hamdan, reporter at Sydsvenskan, who has examined the Palestine movement in Skåne.
In the EU elections, the Left Party was the big winner, increasing the most in both the number of votes and mandates. The party made a strong profile on the Palestine issue and it paid dividends. But support is faltering.
– There are many people who are disappointed with the Left Party. They feel betrayed, says Sead Busuladzic, who has started the Vision Party in Landskrona. He describes it as a pro-Palestinian party targeting the Riksdag.
More new batches
Even Kristofer Lundberg, a local politician in Angered, who was expelled from the Left Party after expressing support for the terrorist organization PFLP, has announced that he will start a new party.
– It is a way to create a political alternative when the Western Party fails on so many fundamental issues.
When the party leadership criticized Kristofer Lundberg, 31 associations wrote in the Palestine movement an open letter to the Left Party where they wanted to stop the exclusion.
“If the Left Party wants to replace the government in the next election, you will need our votes,” they write, among other things, in the letter.
Dropout in Malmö
In Malmö, the Left Party’s former vice-chairman, Orwa Kadoura, has chosen to leave the party. He was criticized for spreading anti-Semitic messages on social media.
– I apologize if I have hurt anyone, but I have not left the party because of these accusations. I have left because of the lack of clarity and the pressure from the party leadership, says Orwa Kadoura.
The party leadership says they stand up for their policies.
Hear what Maria Forsberg, deputy party secretary, says in the video.