Last Thursday, the King planted a tree below the castle in Uppsala – less than a day later it was found broken on the ground.
Leif GW Persson believes that it could be resolved.
– Suspicions go to the republican right, he says.
The king is currently on a jubilee trip to celebrate his 50 years on the throne and the tree was planted to commemorate his visit to the city. But just a few hours after planting, the tree had been vandalized and broken off.
– It seems that a dull ax or something else has come into use. I don’t think the tree itself, the victim in the context, has incurred this behavior. But it certainly targets the monarchy, says Leif GW Persson.
The incident has been reported to the police by the Statens Fastighetsverk and Uppsala municipality, which takes the incident seriously. Leif GW Persson believes that it is not that difficult to work out who has carried out the act. He believes that since pictures were taken during the planting, it should be possible to find the perpetrator among them.
– I am quite certain that the person who carried out this, this rather sloppy cutting down, has returned at night and done this. It’s not entirely impossible to clear up if you now want to do it, which you probably won’t even try, he says.
“Write a submission”
But having just damaged something the King has planted does not bring a harsher punishment – these days.
– If it had happened a couple of hundred years ago, it would have been serious. Because then the legislation was different, if there was in any way a suspicion that it was directed at the King. But not today, it’s about the tree and it’s damage, possibly damage, says GW.
But Leif GW Persson thinks that people could have shown their dissatisfaction with the monarchy in a more peaceful way.
– Go for trees, it’s so simple. Write a submission then, he says.