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First Sweden Democrat mayor resigns over old social media posts

The Sweden Democrat (SD) politician who was set to become the anti-immigration party's first mayor has resigned before officially stepping into the role, after Swedish media uncovered controversial social media posts.

Published: 22 October 2018 15:21 CEST
First Sweden Democrat mayor resigns over old social media posts
Stefan Borg was set to become the Sweden Democrats' first mayor. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

“The media attention that has been directed at my person has made in impossible for the party in (Skåne town) Hörby to instead focus on what's important: Hörby's future and the policies we want to pursue for the municipality,” Borg said in a statement on Monday. 

Anti-racism magazine Expo investigated Borg's activity on social media, and found he had shared extremist far-right and anti-Semitic content, as well as making homophobic statements including comparing LGBT people to necrophiliacs and paedophiles.

Replacing Borg, the party's deputy group leader in Hörby, Cecilia Bladh in Zito, will be put forward for the role of mayor.

The move is a blow for the SD, which became the largest party in the town of Hörby after elections on September 9th, with a total of 35.4 percent of the vote.

Earlier in October, the Moderate Party and the local Swedish Senior Citizen Interest Party agreed to join an electoral alliance with the SD.

At the time, Borg told the TT newswire: “It feels fantastic, and also a big responsibility. If I fail in my role there will naturally be a big backlash.”

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CRIME

Nordic justice ministers meet tech giants on gangs using apps to hire ‘child soldiers’

The justice ministers of Denmark, Sweden and Norway are to meet representatives of the tech giants Google, Meta, Snapchat and TikTok, to discuss how to stop their platforms being used by gang criminals in the region.

Published: 20 September 2024 10:31 CEST
Nordic justice ministers meet tech giants on gangs using apps to hire 'child soldiers'

Denmark’s justice minister, Peter Hummelgaard, said in a press release that he hoped to use the meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss how to stop social media and messaging apps being used by gang criminals, who Danish police revealed earlier this year were using them to recruit so-called “child soldiers” to carry out gang killings.  

“We have seen many examples of how the gangs are using social media and encrypted messaging services to plan serious crimes and recruit very young people to do their dirty work,” Hummelgaard said. “My Nordic colleagues and I agree that a common front is needed to get a grip on this problem.”

As well as recruitment, lists have been found spreading on social media detailing the payments on offer for various criminal services.   

Hummelgaard said he would “insist that the tech giants live up to their responsibilities so that their platforms do not act as hotbeds for serious crimes” at the meeting, which will take place at a summit of Nordic justice ministers in Uppsala, Sweden.

In August, Hummelgaard held a meeting in Copenhagen with Sweden’s justice minister, Gunnar Strömmer, at which the two agreed to work harder to tackle cross-border organised crime, which has seen a series of Swedish youth arrested in Denmark after being recruited to carry out hits in the country. 

According to a press release from the Swedish justice ministry, the morning will be spent discussing how to combat the criminal economy and particularly organised crime in ports, with a press release from Finland’s justice ministry adding that the discussion would also touch on the “undue influence on judicial authorities” from organised crime groups. 

The day will end with a round table discussion with Ronald S Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, on how anti-Semitism and hate crimes against Jews can be prevented and fought in the Nordic region. 

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