Nyamko Sabuni resigns as head of Sweden's Liberal Party(said she'd flee to Norway if we're attacked)

[Celerity]

my add, the Liberal Party (aka L) is a neoliberal (they push for free markets and privatisation, plus semi-austerity (in the Swedish sense) budgets, whether quasi or full stop) centre-right (centre right in the EU sense, many 'L' members would be considered mainstream moderate, moderate conservative, or centrist Dem types in the US) party who 4 months ago said they would pull out (Sabuni was the driving force behind that) of a coalition with the centre left (Social Democrats aka S) and the other centre right neoliberal party, (the Centre Party aka C) and said they would support the far right nationalist Sweden Democrats Party aka SD


Nyamko Sabuni has announced that she is resigning as leader of the troubled Liberal Party, shortly after she was widely condemned for appearing to say she would flee to Norway if Sweden was attacked.

https://www.thelocal.se/20220408/nyamko-sabuni-resigns-as-leader-of-swedens-troubled-liberal-party/


Nyamko Sabuni arrives at the press conference to announce her resignation. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

“I am who I am with all the strengths and weaknesses,” she said at a press conference announcing her resignation. “In June, 2019, the party chose the whole me, but the whole me is not what is now needed. The whole me and the discussion over the whole me is overshadowing what is most important.” Johan Pehrson, Sabuni’s current deputy, will take over as the new leader. The resignation came after she faced strong criticism because of a YouTube video released by the Liberal Party which shows Sabuni discussing the security situation with Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson.

In it she talks about the advantages of living out in the countryside, particularly in her home region in Värmland, in the event of a war. “If there’s a war, we have Skillingmark in Värmland, where we can find our own food and water. If it gets any worse, then we’ll drive over to Norway,” she said in the video.

(Swedish)

After the clip went viral, Sabuni defended it in an interview with Dagens Nyheter as a “light-hearted conversation where we were fantasising about where we would most want to be [in the case of a war].” she said. Swedish Radio’s political commentator Tomas Ramberg said that he didn’t think that the decision had been long planned in advance, but did not think it was in response to the reaction from the clip either.

Since taking over as leader of the party in June, 2019, Sabuni has pulled the party back into the right-wing opposition, breaking off the January Agreement under which the Liberal Party and Centre Party supported a Social Democrat prime minister. She has at the same time upset many in her party by deciding that it will back a right-wing government that is dependent on the support of the far-Right Sweden Democrats. Perhaps the main reason for her departure, however, is the poor polling figures the party has had under her leadership, which now put it just over two percent, well below the four percent needed to enter the parliament.

snip

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. The real war is: Trump/Putin/ vs.

Every country is going to have to face this clear political divide, internally.

[dsc]

2. Just curious

is her race considered to have had any part in her being forced out. I have to assume there aren't all that many Black Swedish party leaders. She clearly deserved to be forced out I am just wondering if there is a feeling had she been White if she would have survived.

[Celerity]

3. The opposite. She was cut a lot of slack by some as they did not want to even give off a whiff

of perceived racism and be labelled as such. Sabuni's aligning with the hard RW, white nationalist (at core, despite their leader Jimmie Åkesson trying to put a 'suit and tie' respectability on the party) Sweden Democrats pretty much put paid to a lot of her support from many.