L-top: Break the cooperation with the Sweden Democrats

After the revelations about the Sweden Democrats’ anonymous accounts in social media, L in Norrtälje chose to break cooperation with SD.

Now local L leader Robert Beronius is calling on his party leadership to break the Tidö collaboration – unless SD closes its accounts.

– They cannot be trusted, says Beronius.

Show more

chevron-down

Robert Beronius, group leader for the Liberals in Norrtälje municipality, felt that the policy pursued within the new collaboration was well on its way to making a difference.

The school would be protected from inflation and worse economic times.

– We have seen a fantastic development that goes completely against the development at national level in terms of reading comprehension and reading ability, he says.

Then came the revelation.

TV4’s Cold facts were able to show that the Sweden Democrats use anonymous accounts in social media to criticize and mock the partner parties as well as political opponents.

At the national level, the Liberals came up with a number of demands on SD. One of them was that SD had to close down their anonymous accounts. SD flatly said no.

What remained was a party leadership in the Liberals who did not know what to do.

As an emergency solution, and to save face, L came forward with a proposal to legislate to cut off the money to parties that use anonymous accounts.

But the reception by the government’s friends the Moderates and the Christian Democrats was cool.

And there you stand.

“Lack of insight into the problem”

In Norrtälje, where cooperation is a mirror of national politics, L went from words to action.

Robert Beronius and his party demanded that SD in Norrtälje realize the problem with anonymous accounts and that local party support should not be diverted to finance SD’s communications department, which manages the accounts.

But SD did not meet the requirements, L believed.

After a vote with party members on the matter, the cooperation with M, KD and SD was broken.

– SD has said that you should not create new accounts right now, but that says nothing about the future, and it shows that you lack insight into the problem with troll accounts, says Robert Beronius.

– They primarily target young people through Tiktok and other social platforms. That’s where you stay. The problem with anonymous accounts is that they are anonymous.

The Tidö Agreement showed the way

Last term, Norrtälje municipality was governed by a minority government in the form of the former alliance parties.

When L concluded the Tidö Agreement on a national level, the door was also opened to merge with SD locally, says Robert Beronius.

– It affected us a lot.

Robert Beronius further says that M and KD also have a great deal of responsibility for the way it has turned out.

– Now they are just marionettes and say yes to SD every time. Neither M nor KD wanted to take a stand on the troll factories. Had they shown some backbone and shown they were on our side and pushed SD, maybe this would have ended differently.

The answer: “Unfortunately”

The moderates’ chairman in the municipal board, Ann-Charlotte Lindblad Söderman, says that she distances herself from the use of anonymous accounts.

She regrets that L chose to end the collaboration.

– What is so regrettable is that they have taken so much into account of what has happened at the national level and that it has affected our municipal politics so much. It is regrettable.

Andrea Kronvall, group leader for SD in Norrtälje and member of the party board, says that she believes that the Liberals’ withdrawal from the collaboration is partly a result of the party’s low public opinion figures.

– They have made a strategic consideration about governing with the Sweden Democrats. I think they’ve been looking for a reason to step down but not appear irresponsible in doing so. Therefore, they take a national issue and make use of it.

Andrea Kronvall also wonders why L sets his ultimatums.

– This has not been done in any other municipality and at national level it is known that L is dissatisfied with the anonymous accounts, but there they have still chosen to remain in the collaboration, she says.

The call: Break the Tidö collaboration

L is currently in negotiations with S, C, and MP to get a new municipal board.

On Monday, V will hand over a list of the party’s demands to release the quartet.

– We have come quite far and are starting to approach the goal, says Robert Beronius.

Local L-toppen calls on its party leadership to rethink and break cooperation with SD, if there is no legislation against parties’ anonymous accounts or if SD voluntarily agrees to end its accounts.

– It’s just to state that it doesn’t matter what statements the Sweden Democrats come up with, they can’t be trusted, says Robert Beronius.

– You can set the ultimatum that anonymous accounts are not to be operated. If you don’t do that, you have to take the next step, which is to leave the collaboration.