On Monday, Åke Fridén announced that he is leaving the Westbopartiet because he is not satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations on the municipality’s new board. According to him, the party does not agree on how to move forward or what they want to change. Former defectors Kian Anderson and Niklas Westerholm also think so.
– The three of us are in touching agreement and we were critical of joining the majority constellation, says Åke Fridén.
Going politically wild
Just over two weeks after it became clear that the Westbopartiet with its five mandates would be part of the majority government together with S, M, C and L, three politicians have thus chosen to leave the party. Both Kian Anderson and Åke Fridén each received the mandates through personal votes.
Aren’t you letting the party down now that you’re leaving?
– I don’t have a bad conscience, that mandate is mine, says Åke Fridén.
He believes that the outcome of the negotiations with the other parties was not in the Westbopartiet’s favor. Above all, it is the issue of care for the elderly, which has not been prioritized in the way he would have liked.
– People are pissed off! They have contacted me and said they regret voting for me and I don’t want it that way. I choose to remain a political savage and I intend to continue arguing.
Sorry for the dropout
Wetbopartiet’s group leader Sandy Lind regrets the defection. He believes that the majority of the party’s members thought that the new majority rule was the right way to go, but confirms that not everyone agreed.
– I accept and respect their position. For the Westbopartiet’s sake, it is very sad that they are leaving, he says.
The other parties have contacted Sandy Lind and wondered how it is possible that politicians leave at the beginning of the term. However, he is clear that the defection will not affect the party’s ability to influence politics.
Will more people leave the party?
– No. I really haven’t received those signals. I have to trust their word, says Sandy Lind.