Vänsterpartiets ministerdröm drar allt längre bort

SVT political commentator Mats Knutson writes that Vänsterpartiet’s leader Nooshi Dadgostar is seeing her hopes of ministerial posts recede as further revelations emerge about party members accused of praising terrorism.

Among Sweden’s parliamentary parties, none has a stronger engagement in the Palestinian issue than Vänsterpartiet, Knutson writes. But that engagement repeatedly appears to go off course, potentially costing the party highly sought-after ministerial positions after a red-green election victory.

Dadgostar has repeatedly demanded ministerial posts in recent years. The recurring revelations are damaging the party during the election campaign, harming its image as a party capable of governing and suggesting that its leadership lacks control over the organisation.

The criticism also creates difficulties for the Social Democrats during the campaign. Political opponents are likely to warn that Vänsterpartiet could enter government after a red-green victory. At the same time, the revelations give Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson an argument for keeping Vänsterpartiet outside a possible government. After the controversies surrounding the party in recent years, she is likely to recognise the risks of bringing it into government.

SVT identifies the piece as an analysis and notes that its conclusions are the journalist’s own.