Feminism has been hijacked by the left – enough now, says Christian Democrat leader

Ebba Busch, leader of the Christian Democrats, asserts that feminism has been "hijacked by the left," transforming into a radical ideology that prioritizes control over freedom and pits men and women against each other. In an opinion piece for Dagens Nyheter, she calls for a new "bourgeois feminism" that champions individual choice and rejects state intervention in family life.

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It is time for a new bourgeois feminism without gender wars and state coercion. I want my daughter to be able to reap victories – but also my son.

Busch argues that while past generations fought for fundamental rights, the current struggle for equality must focus on the freedom to choose one's own life. She criticizes the left-wing feminist approach for claiming a monopoly on truth regarding women's lives, diminishing the importance of the family, and denying women's choices when they deviate from feminist theory. She specifically points to proposals for mandatory parental leave quotas as an example of state overreach that infringes on women's autonomy regarding breastfeeding and childcare.

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For too long, feminism has been hijacked by the left. What we have seen emerge is a radical feminism that is not based on freedom, but on control.

"This kind of left-wing feminism is precisely what left-wing politics is: a takeover of control from the individual to the state," Busch writes. "Here, it is a stripping away of a woman's self-determination." She highlights that parties across the political spectrum, from the left to the Center Party, advocate for increased state control over families. The Christian Democrats, she states, reject this coercive policy, believing that politicians should create conditions for women to choose freely, not dictate their lives.

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This kind of left-wing feminism is precisely what left-wing politics is: a takeover of control from the individual to the state.

Busch expresses concern that the public discourse, which she feels describes young men as a societal problem, fosters alienation. She believes that when society accepts the radical feminist view of men as problematic, it creates a dangerous divide. Her vision for a bourgeois feminism aims to ensure that her daughter, and her son, can both achieve success and live fulfilling lives without being defined by gender-based conflicts or state mandates.

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The Christian Democrats say no to this coercive policy. It is not the task of politicians to tell women what life they should choose.