Sweden Democrat official takes parental leave following Russia allegations
Gustav Gellerbrant, head of the "coordination office" where Sweden Democrat officials examine the priorities of the government, has handed in his security pass and laptop to the government offices to go on parental leave, after concerns were raised that his Russian partner, who had allegedly spent around a decade sharing Russian propaganda and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin on social media, could constitute a security risk.
Writing on Facebook on Sunday to comment on the allegations for the first time, Gellerbrant said that "the ongoing media witch-hunt has put an inhumane strain on my family".
He stated that he is taking parental leave immediately "to gain further distance and to avoid shifting focus from the ongoing election campaign".
It comes after anti-racism magazine Expo wrote an exposé about his partner, who moved to Sweden from Russia in 2006. She studied communication at Södertörn University and political science at Sweden's Defence University. In 2012 she received Swedish citizenship. In 2014 she did an internship at the Civil Contingencies Agency, and then applied for jobs at a series of Swedish government offices, including the Defence Ministry and Business Ministry. Today, she is employed by the Sweden Democrats as a special adviser to the MPs on the Committee on the Constitution, but is currently on parental leave.
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In his Facebook post, Gellerbrant wrote that Expo had published "allegations and snippets of information taken out of context" aimed at "casting suspicion on her as a person, based on her Russian background".
He wrote that Expo had published old social media posts without their proper context, and without explaining what his partner claims was "obvious sarcasm and irony". Gellerbrant argued that his partner's social media posts actually expressed criticism of the Russian regime. He added that on February 24th 2022, the day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she described it on social media as the worst day of her life.
He also stated that he had been completely transparent during the security clearance process carried out on him by the government offices.
Expo's editor-in-chief, Anna Fröjd, wrote on the magazine's website that the details were thoroughly documented and that Gellerbrant was avoiding commenting on "the most incriminating findings" of the investigation.
Fröjd pointed to the partner's involvement in an amateur theatre group, which includes several people who played prominent roles in the now-defunct Russian National Federation Rurik. According to Expo, the theatre's director had attended conferences featuring members of the Russian intelligence services. The theatre was also listed by Russian state actors as representing Russia in Sweden, and had received funding from the Russian state.
Social Democrat party secretary Tobias Baudin welcomed the news that Gellerbrant's pass had been handed in, but argued that he should have been suspended and that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had several questions to answer. "What is he planning to do now? Is there sensitive information regarding our country's security that has left the Prime Minister's Office and even reached other countries?" he told news agency TT.
Kristersson told public broadcaster SVT that the matter was ultimately one for the Sweden Democrats, but like Baudin, he welcomed Gellerbrant taking parental leave.
"I think that is a good solution," he told the broadcaster. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: a media witch-hunt – ett drev
'Deeply concerned': Wallenberg sounds alarm over left-wing election victory
Jacob Wallenberg, chair of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, warned in an interview with the Financial Times that Swedish business could suffer if the left-wing opposition wins the upcoming election.
Wallenberg, who also chairs the Wallenberg sphere's investment giant Investor, told the newspaper that decades of pro-business reforms backed by both the left and right are now under threat due to various opposition proposals. Among other concerns, he warned that Sweden risks losing its world-leading position in tech startups and that established companies could also take a hit should the opposition come to power.
"The opposition has pointed to more government engagement, higher taxes in a number of different areas (...) also a discussion about working less hours. I'm deeply concerned about these things," he told FT.
Wallenberg said that he was not singling out any parties.
"Our concerns are directed at specific suggestions that we feel could be impediments for the continuous development of businesses in this country. This is voiced by the opposition," he said.
Magdalena Andersson, leader of the centre-left Social Democrats, said she understood that Wallenberg, in his role at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, wanted to air his views during the election campaign. However, she argued that he is wrong and has nothing to worry about if there is a change of government.
"I can only point to the fact that Social Democrat-led governments have historically delivered growth above our potential, while right-wing governments have performed below it. We typically deliver strong employment growth and sound public finances," the TT news agency quoted her as saying. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: Confederation of Swedish Enterprise – Svenskt Näringsliv
Election Authority calls emergency meeting after votes risk being invalidated
Sweden's Election Authority called the party secretaries of all parliamentary parties to an urgent meeting on Monday following a technical error that could lead to thousands of early votes being invalidated, reports public radio broadcaster Sveriges Radio Ekot.
Mattias Bäckström Johansson, party secretary for the Sweden Democrats, told the broadcaster that the situation is alarming.
"An extremely serious situation has arisen. It touches on the credibility of our electoral system and what may well be the tightest election in modern history," he said.
Around 4,000 voters have been incorrectly checked off twice when casting their ballots, or have had their votes marked off against another voter's name.
The Election Authority was alerted on Tuesday afternoon by Nynäshamn municipality, which had uncovered the technical flaw. The agency told news agency TT on Friday that it is working to minimise the impact on the final election result, and on Monday it confirmed that a maximum of 500 votes would have to be discarded, a figure that it said could decrease. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: Election Authority – Valmyndigheten
BEEEEEEP! Sweden to test new mobile emergency alert system today
Sweden is set to test its new mobile emergency alert system, called SE-Alert, in Stockholm and Gotland today, September 7th. The test will take place at 3pm alongside the quarterly outdoor emergency siren "Hesa Fredrik".
This means that if you are in the Stockholm area or Gotland, have an up-to-date smartphone which is switched on and connected to a mobile network, you will receive a pop-up text notification accompanied by a loud audio signal and vibration, even if you've got your phone on silent. If you don't want to receive the alert, you should completely switch off your phone.
It's just a test and you don't need to do anything – but it will be sent out to everyone, including children, the elderly and international tourists who just happen to be in the area at the time of the test, so it's worth informing friends and family members of the test in advance if you think they may otherwise get concerned or caught off guard by receiving the notification.
It will be sent out to everyone in the area regardless of whether you have a Swedish or international number, the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency – which is responsible for the test – confirmed to The Local.
You don't have to download an app to receive the notification, it will happen automatically. It's also worth knowing that if you're in Stockholm's neighbouring regions such as Uppsala, Södermanland or Västmanland, you may also receive the test alert (or you may not), because it is sent out using cell broadcast, so it depends on the signal range rather than exact administrative regional borders.
For this first test, the header may be in English. The message itself will be in Swedish followed by English.
SE-Alert will be tested nationwide in December. (The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: regardless – oavsett
Swedish inflation holds steady in August – lower than forecast
Sweden's inflation with interest rates excluded (CPIF) held steady at 0.7 percent in August, according to preliminary figures from Statistics Sweden.
The figure came in lower than expected, with economists forecasting an average rate of 0.9 percent, according to a survey by Bloomberg.
Inflation also came in at 0.7 percent in July.
Inflation excluding energy prices – a metric also monitored by the Riksbank – eased further to 0.5 percent, down from 0.6 percent in July.
A breakdown across product categories shows that food prices dropped by 6.6 percent over the past year, driven primarily by the recent cut in food VAT.
Prices of clothing and footwear remained largely unchanged year-on-year, while dining out and accommodation rose by 3 percent.
Headline inflation (CPI) edged up to 0.3 percent in August, compared to 0.2 percent in July. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: VAT – moms
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