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🇸🇪 Sweden /Conflict & Security

Andersson on SD official: Kristersson must explain what happened

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Magdalena Andersson has called for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to explain the alleged links between a Sweden Democrats official and Russian networks.
  • Andersson asked what information may have been exposed, including whether national-security information was involved.
  • Jimmie Åkesson said the people concerned had undergone security checks, while several party leaders called for a full investigation.

Magdalena Andersson says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson must explain exactly what happened after an investigation by Expo linked a Sweden Democrats official to Russian networks and Russian propaganda. The official is the partner of one of Jimmie Åkesson’s closest aides in the Government Offices.

These are very serious allegations concerning a person who works in the prime minister’s immediate vicinity.

· Magdalena AnderssonThe Social Democrat leader described the implications of the Expo investigation.

The Social Democrat leader asked which information may have been disclosed and whether it could involve national security. She also said Kristersson and Åkesson had not treated the allegations with the seriousness they deserved.

Åkesson described the allegations as serious. He said both the Sweden Democrats official and the close aide had undergone security vetting before employment and in connection with Expo’s publication. According to Åkesson, the official learned about the impending publication several days beforehand and contacted the relevant security units. He said he had not known about the allegations before they were published.

Exactly what happened.

· Magdalena AnderssonShe urged the prime minister to disclose what had occurred.

The aide, who is also the official’s partner, told Expo he had been fully transparent about the information he provided. Kristersson declined to answer questions about the official’s connection to the aide. The prime minister had previously told Aftonbladet that the Sweden Democrats should remove the employee if the allegations proved true, adding that pro-Russian propaganda had no place in Sweden.

Pro-Russian propaganda has no place in this country.

· Ulf KristerssonThe prime minister’s earlier response to the allegations is cited.

Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson said the allegations showed the need to establish how the situation had occurred. Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist called it a security risk because of the aide’s senior position. Green Party spokesperson Daniel Helldén agreed, while Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar demanded answers about the official’s access to government premises, contacts and information.

I have been 100 percent transparent about the information I provided.

· Jimmie Åkesson’s close aideThe aide responded to Expo’s publication.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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