The culture war has started, declared Riksdag member Björn Söder (SD), earlier this week. Now the government and the Sweden Democrats are on opposite sides of the divide.
“SD has made an internal calculation,” says TV4’s political commentator Marcus Oscarsson
It was during Sunday’s party leader debate on SVT that the Sweden Democrats and the Green Party got together. The argument was about whether tax money should go towards allowing drag queens to read fairy tales to children, something that SD Jimmie Åkesson opposed. The Green Party’s spokesperson Märta Stenevi countered Åkesson.
– I think politics should stay as far away from culture as possible, she said.
After the debate, Member of Parliament Björn Söder (SD) tweeted that the culture war had begun.
“And now conservatism will win. The decadent cultural policy of the left will soon be a thing of the past. For too long it has prevailed as a result of unrestrained socialist influence and a neutered bourgeoisie. But now it’s over,” he wrote.
However, the government is not willing to go to war together with the Sweden Democrats on this issue. Both party secretary Gulan Avci (L) and culture minister Parisa Liljestrand (M) opposed SD’s position and recalled the Tidö agreement. The agreement states, among other things, that the politicians should not meddle in what the cultural workers are doing.
L and SD may get a boost
TV4’s political commentator Marcus Oscarsson believes that SD is making this move to get more voters, a result that he believes is possible to achieve.
– They have made an internal calculation that has not so much to do with the government’s cohesion, but rather themselves, he says.
Another party that, according to Marcus Oscarsson, could get a boost from this issue is the Liberals, even if they outwardly gave the appearance of being upset.
– The liberals probably think secretly that this is great fun because then they get to go out and box with the Sweden Democrats. The Liberals are at 2.8 percent according to the latest poll, which is super low levels. So this might help the Liberals a bit, says Marcus Oscarsson.