Swedish coalition ‘undermined’ by far-right troll farm scandal

Sweden’s centre-right coalition of the Moderates, Christian Democrats (CD), and Liberals is now facing turbulent waters as revelations about its ally, the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), allegedly running a troll farm, threaten to upset the political balance.

Last week, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s leadership was dealt a major blow when TV4 revealed that the communications department of the far-right SD (ECR) party had used numerous anonymous accounts to spread social media content favourable to its views, sometimes at the expense of its coalition allies.

SD, the country’s second-largest party, is not formally part of the ruling coalition of the centre-right Moderates, CD, and Liberals but supports it in return for a tougher immigration policy. Without its support, however, the coalition would fall.

“We have Sweden’s second largest party that defends its troll armies and questions independent media. It is extremely serious,” said the leader of Center Party (Renew) Muharrem Demirok, on Tuesday, adding that the whole story “undermines Ulf Kristersson’s leadership”.

The government is also being criticised for SD’s social media posts, which violate an agreement with the ruling coalition in which the governing parties and the far-right SD agreed to speak respectfully of each other’s representatives.

“It is damaging to trust and risks damaging trust in politics in a broader sense. It is definitely a loss of confidence for SD if this is true,” the prime minister said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“I am extremely against slandering both political opponents and cooperating parties. I am extremely against troll accounts; it can be downright dangerous, so they have a lot of questions to answer,” Kristersson continued, adding that he expected an apology if SD had indeed slandered others.

Trolls have the prime minister on thin ice

The revelations have put Kristersson in a more than uncomfortable position, with members of the ruling coalition distancing themselves from the TV4 revelations, and threatening to fracture the political balance that has been in place since the end of 2022.

“It is the kind of case that can easily damage or even undo a coalition, given the importance of the far-right party in the Swedish political landscape,” a source close to the Liberals told Euractiv.

Indeed, Liberals leader Johan Pehrson did not mince his words about SD’s troll farms.

“The data revealed by TV4 is unacceptable; misinformation and online hate are extremely serious. The Sweden Democrats need to immediately explain how they intend to stop the operation,” he said to the press agency TT, adding that SD leader Jimmie Åkesson must meet with the party’s secretaries to discuss how to move forward on the issue.

At the same time, CD leader Ebba Busch said SD’s move was “politics at its worst” and “something that does not belong in politics”, while calling on SD leaders to “take hold of the problems”.

In an official video, Åkesson rejected the accusations that the party was running a troll farm, calling the media coverage of recent days “a gigantic domestic influence operation”, driven by “the collective left-liberal establishment”.

In his speech, he called TV4’s Kalla Fakta the most “blatant” example, adding that his party is “not ashamed” and calling those making accusations against the party “wimps”.

Despite last week’s revelations of 23 anonymous accounts, the SD has denied for several years that the party has a troll factory.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)

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