Email sender 'was not acting alone'
Senior Social Democratic pollster Mats Lindström was unlikely to have been acting alone when he sent defamatory emails about Fredrik Reinfeldt, Moderate Party politicians have claimed.
Social Democrats had originally insisted that the culprit had a junior role within the party, but this claim was rubbished when Lindström's name was revealed.
The scandal surrounding the emails is continuing to grow. Lindström was one of eight senior aides to prime minister Göran Persson to accompany him on a 2003 trip to a vineyard in the south of France, at which they discussed the defeat in Sweden's euro referendum.
Manuel Ferrer, the Social Democrats' press spokesman, confirmed that Lindström was on the trip.
"He was there in his role as a poll analyst. He presented an analysis of the vote, and explained why the result turned out as it did," said Ferrer.
Ferrer added that Lindström had no decision making powers.
The revelation of Lindström's presence on the trip shows that "the claims that this was somebody who was remote from the party leadership have shown themselves to be false," said Moderate Party secretary Sven Otto Littorin.
Littorin says the fact that the pollster was on the trip is a sign that he had very close contact with the Social Democrats' inner circle.
The Moderates have made a complaint to police about the defamation, and are considering whether to change it so that Fredrik Reinfeldt is named as the complainant.
"We're giving it some time, and continuing to consider the matter. We're also starting to wonder whether this could be a matter for public prosecution, so that the prosecutor might take it up, whatever we do."
A police enquiry could show whether Lindström was alone in sending the emails. He has said that he did it on his own initiative, but has not said whether more people were involved.
"That this should be the work of one person seems less and less likely," said Littorin.
TT/The Local
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Social Democrats had originally insisted that the culprit had a junior role within the party, but this claim was rubbished when Lindström's name was revealed.
The scandal surrounding the emails is continuing to grow. Lindström was one of eight senior aides to prime minister Göran Persson to accompany him on a 2003 trip to a vineyard in the south of France, at which they discussed the defeat in Sweden's euro referendum.
Manuel Ferrer, the Social Democrats' press spokesman, confirmed that Lindström was on the trip.
"He was there in his role as a poll analyst. He presented an analysis of the vote, and explained why the result turned out as it did," said Ferrer.
Ferrer added that Lindström had no decision making powers.
The revelation of Lindström's presence on the trip shows that "the claims that this was somebody who was remote from the party leadership have shown themselves to be false," said Moderate Party secretary Sven Otto Littorin.
Littorin says the fact that the pollster was on the trip is a sign that he had very close contact with the Social Democrats' inner circle.
The Moderates have made a complaint to police about the defamation, and are considering whether to change it so that Fredrik Reinfeldt is named as the complainant.
"We're giving it some time, and continuing to consider the matter. We're also starting to wonder whether this could be a matter for public prosecution, so that the prosecutor might take it up, whatever we do."
A police enquiry could show whether Lindström was alone in sending the emails. He has said that he did it on his own initiative, but has not said whether more people were involved.
"That this should be the work of one person seems less and less likely," said Littorin.
TT/The Local
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