Politician resigns over 'naked Jesus' exhibition

A local Moderate Party politician has resigned over the upcoming 'Ecce Homo' exhibition in Örnsköldsvik, northern Sweden.

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Lars Näslund, who was a defiantly vocal opponent of the exhibition by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, told SVT's Mittnytt that he resigned because of a lack of support from other local party members.

Before Näslund's resignation, a delegate from the council's cultural and recreational activities committee, Ulva Hellström (Mod), had threatened to resign in protest against Lars Näslund's vocal criticism of the exhibition.

Hellström has not commented on Näslund's resignation.

The controversial exhibition featuring homoerotic images of Jesus Christ has caused quite a stir in the community.

Örnsköldvik's head of cultural affairs Siv Sandberg even received death threats when she granted permission for the exhibition by celebrity snapper Wallin. She has made an official complaint to the police.

The little northern town recently gained further media attention when the Swedish Council of Örnsköldsvik sent its staff a 'happy holidays' brochure depicting a full frontal nude 'Jesus' being christened by another Swedish hunk from the exhibition.

It isn’t the first time that photographer Elisabeth Ohlson Wallins’ work has called attention to itself. In fact, Ecce Homo was Sweden’s most talked about photography expo when it first was shown in 1998.

It even caused the pope to cancel an audience with Sweden’s then archbishop K-G Hammer.

Lars Näslund's future in the Moderate Party is to be decided on Monday evening.