During the summer, a new couple has taken over Rasmus Paludan’s Koran burning tour. But in the virtual world, on X (formerly Twitter), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Richard Jomshof, has constantly engaged in harsh criticism of Islam.
A kind of verbal Koran burning on social media if you will.
It’s been going on for a long time, but he’s gotten a lot more attention lately. Jomshof himself believes that his derision of Islam is justified criticism that is true. The Prime Minister has repeated at the majority that “just because it is legal, it does not have to be appropriate”. But Jomshof is not driven by what is appropriate. He is driven by a conviction.
Jomshof’s statements are significant
“Of course, the fact that an individual member of parliament tweets something means nothing. The only thing I have done is to defend our freedom of expression and I intend to continue to do so,” said Richard Jomshof to TV4 Nyheterna on Monday.
But Jomshof’s statements on social media have great significance. Voter support is obtained through trust. Politicians gain trust if they have a firm conviction, which they continue to assert – even when it’s windy. A politician gets even more voter support if he or she says the right things. Truths that no one else dares to say.
For many Sweden Democratic voters, Richard Jomshof is almost an icon. If you read the comments on his social media channels, he has many admirers. When the red-green parties demanded his resignation as chairman of the justice committee, his fans were outraged. Jomshof is one of the few politicians in Sweden who has a backbone, according to them.
When the corridor of opinion was at its narrowest, he continued to talk about mass immigration, and the problems of multiculturalism, as Jomshof puts it. He has always argued that Islam and Islamists are a threat to Sweden. A threat to the folk-home Sweden that he misses and wants to recreate.
The greater the perceived threat – the greater SD support
The summer has largely been about SD’s perhaps most important issue – the threat from Islamists. The party has pursued the issue since its inception. They have studied and can argue.
On Monday, TV4 Nyheterna published a new Sifo survey which shows that a majority of Swedes are worried about terrorist crimes.
The greater the threat voters perceive that there is from Islamists – the greater voter support for SD is likely to be. The reason is that many of the party’s voters see the Sweden Democrats as truth tellers.
SD were not silent, they spoke out. SD wants to do something about “mass immigration” according to their voters. With that approach, SD’s voter support probably got a real boost when the terror threat level was raised from three to four. With that logic, the Sweden Democrats benefit from having a high tone.
Richard Jomshof will of course continue to vilify Islam. That is his belief, and the party benefits from it.