It has been a turbulent spring for KD with Sara Skyttedal at the center. Her statement about cannabis and the police report against Johan Ingerö have meant that KD has had difficulty reaching out with its politics.
– This spring has been tough, overwhelming and took far too much focus, says Sara Skyttedal.
In March, it emerged that the EU parliamentarian had reported colleague Johan Ingerö to the police for sexual harassment, which received a lot of attention in the media. It concerned an event that should have occurred in 2014. The preliminary investigation was dropped, but Ingerö left her post as party secretary. Sara Skyttedal says that she was worried that she would become a deterrent example for women who are considering reporting a sexual assault to the police, as she believes that she was subjected to a media drive after reporting.
– But I have been told by others that because I dared to tell them, they also gathered the courage to report. Just having made a difference to individuals makes me feel that it was worth it, she says.
Earlier in the spring, she agreed that she had used cannabis and that she is in favor of decriminalizing her own use of the drug. It received sharp criticism from the party and Ebba Busch. Skyttedal then backtracked and said she follows the party line.
Not surprised by the opinion numbers
In TV4’s latest voter opinion, the Christian Democrats ended up below 4 percent, i.e. below the parliamentary threshold. But that neither worries nor surprises Sara Skyttedal.
– I have seen those numbers before and I know that it is on election day that it counts. It has been an incredibly tough spring, both with me but also with other things in the party. So I’m not surprised that the numbers look the way they do, she says.
She says that she is sure that what KD does in the government will change the numbers in the three years that are left before the next election.
Thought about quitting
Because of the tough spring, she thought about whether she should quit as a politician, but has ended up running as an EU parliamentarian for the next term as well.
Do you think your election campaign may have been damaged by what you describe as a media drive?
– I think that for many party members and party representatives it has been tough that it has taken all the light from what you really want to talk about. And I feel that too, but now it’s like this has happened to me. And the message I want to get out is that you should stand up for yourself, she says.