That state aid is at stake for Muf means a potential financial disaster.
If Douglas Thor starts to cost money, even former allies may abandon him.
All youth associations are dependent on state support from the Agency for Youth and Civil Society Affairs, MUCF. Therefore, the news that Muf is about to lose this support is a death blow for the young moderates.
In a first step, the payment for the second half of the year is only paused. But the decision is justified by the fact that what has come up so far in the investigation is so troubling that it may affect the aid paid.
Translation: unless the MUCF comes across something very unexpected, they will snatch all or or part of the Muf’s money.
In total, it is SEK 2.7 million for 2023. This is a large part of the youth association’s funding. The annual budget for Muf’s central office was SEK 4.6 million last year. This means that more than half of the central organization’s money risks disappearing. Even worse is that Muf is at risk of being liable for repayment of funds that have already been spent.
This is very bad news for Douglas Thor. So far it has cost nothing to support him. But now there are beginning to be real consequences of his attempt to rig the district chairman election in Jämtland.
Three options
Among young moderates, the mood is upset. What to do if a large part of the central organization’s budget disappears? The options discussed all have their problems:
1: Tighten up. Terminate staff at the central office. Fewer activities. More voluntary work. But a rigidly tightened waist belt is hardly what makes a youth association live and thrive.
2: Charge members more. Raise fees. More expensive events. Get the districts to move money to Muf centrally. But then you also have to be prepared for the question: “Why should the members pay for Douglas Thor’s misconduct?”
3: Ask the Moderates to raise money. The mother party has a well-filled coffers, and would like to have a prosperous and well-managed youth association. But within the moderates’ party board, patience is also beginning to wear thin. Why should they spend money on the Muf chairman’s homemade soup.
“The ground is starting to burn”
Now it must be emphasized that no final decisions have been made yet. Several people in the circle around Douglas Thor believe that they can placate the MUCF with ease. Douglas Thor himself said yesterday confidently that “we can sort this out”.
But reasonably, the ground begins to burn under his feet. Douglas Thor’s presidency of Muf is now stumbling close to a very concrete price tag: SEK 2.7 million.
The question is whether Muf and the moderates are prepared to pay it?