The game for power in the Green Party takes several new turns before the party congress in November.
A new model with a mouthpiece in Brussels and one in Sweden has been put forward by top candidate Pär Holmgren and according to information to Aftonbladet, Märta Stenevi may take a firmer grip on the party if the EU politician is elected.
– Pär will not get involved in domestic politics. It’s good for Märta, says a source.
About ten male environmentalists have now announced that they are willing to take over the position of spokesperson in the Green Party after Per Bolund.
In November, the party will go to a congress in Örebro to vote on a new mouthpiece, and right now the election committee is sitting and going through the various candidates before the vote this fall.
Of the more prominent candidates, the Member of Parliament Daniel Helldén, the police officer Martin Marmgren and the municipal councilor in Gällivare Henrik Ölvebo can be seen.
New favorite
Last week, the member of the European Parliament, also a former SVT meteorologist, Pär Holmgren announced his candidacy.
Pär Holmgren’s candidacy is peculiar because he wants to become a spokesperson and at the same time remain as a member of the European Parliament down in Brussels.
According to the party’s statutes, both mouthpieces must be equal. What this means in practice is somewhat vague, but the same statutes state that it is entirely possible for an MEP to be elected spokesperson.
A source tells Aftonbladet that the upcoming EU election, where MP traditionally receives greater voter support than in the national elections, is a big advantage for Pär Holmgren.
– The election is really an opportunity where he will be able to profile himself and highlight the party in front of Swedish voters.
Opening up for a power grab by Märta Stenevi
Pär Holmgren as spokesperson could also mean an opportunity for Märta Stenevi to take an even tighter grip on the party.
A source says that the arrangement with Pär Holmgren as spokesperson from Brussels and Märta Stenevi in Sweden is favored by the incumbent spokesperson.
– Pär will not get involved in domestic politics. It’s good for Märta. Then she gets to decide more about the politics that are carried out at home in Sweden and stake out the party’s line, says a source.
According to several informants, Märta Stenevi must have been in contact with several of the mouthpiece candidates.
A well-informed source tells us that it is not Märta Stenevi who has proposed the model where Pär Holmgren remains in Brussels if he becomes one half of the leadership duo, but Märta Stenevi is said to have expressed a great interest in the solution.
A centrally located environmentalist says that a phalanx in the party opposes Pär Holmgren’s model, but few dare to challenge Märta Stenevi.
– Pär will lack a proper place in Swedish politics and the party may suffer from that, says the source.
– People are afraid of their positions and do not dare to go against Märta.
Can decide how the party is to be governed
So far, only Daniel Helldén has said that he is running both to become one of two spokespeople and to become sole leader – if the party changes the model for how the party should be led.
And the question of how the party should be governed remains. In mid-September, the party will hold a trial vote to see if there is any support among the party’s delegates to change the mouthpiece model.
According to several MP sources, the solution that Pär Holmgren is running for is seen as a compromise that can appease the part of the party that wants to leave the model with two mouthpieces to switch to one.
Environmentalists that Aftonbladet spoke to, who had previously been in favor of changing from two to one mouthpiece, have now begun to hesitate and say they are more interested in the solution with two mouthpieces that Pär Holmgren is running for.
– It’s an interesting arrangement and Pär attracts many who wanted to switch to a mouthpiece, says a source.