L-minister's SD-attack: 'Irresponsible' party – Jomshof responds

Climate Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) sharpens her tone against the Sweden Democrats and argues that the party is ‘too irresponsible’ to take part in a government. SD leader Richard Jomshof, in turn, responds sharply and accuses the minister of giving in to Islamist demands. The conflict coincides with the Liberals expected to establish a red line against SD in the government issue.

In a new documentary on SVT Play, Romina Pourmokhtari explains why she believes that the Liberals should draw a clear line against giving the Sweden Democrats government influence. She describes government work as a direct exercise of power – a position she believes many voters, including herself, do not want to give to SD.

‘There is much that shows irresponsibility,’ says the climate minister, pointing to several events during the mandate period.

As an example, she mentions the time when Sweden fought to secure its NATO application. According to Pourmokhtari, SD leader Richard Jomshof escalated the conflict by calling for more Quran burnings.

‘It is the most serious security situation ever… and Richard Jomshof chooses to incite the Quran burner. That behavior is dangerous. It is genuinely dangerous for Sweden,’ she says in the documentary.

The Liberals are now expected, according to party representatives, to formally establish that SD should not be given a place in a future conservative government. Conservative voters should be able to vote right-wing without at the same time risking the Sweden Democrats being voted into the government, which they do not want there, Pourmokhtari argues.

Jomshof’s counterattack: ‘I stand up for our democracy’

SD profile Richard Jomshof strongly reacts to the climate minister’s statements. In an SMS to SVT and in a lengthy post on X, he argues that his actions during the NATO process were a defense of freedom of speech – not a security threat.

‘The most important thing we can do for Sweden is to stand up for our democracy and freedom of speech,’ he writes, and accuses Pourmokhtari of wanting to make concessions to Islamists.

Jomshof recounts President Erdogan’s harsh statements against Sweden during the NATO application and emphasizes that his own stance was a principled stand:

‘We should not under any circumstances apologize for our democracy or for our freedom of speech,’ he writes, arguing that freedom must be defended even when the expressions are controversial.

Opinion trend signals the opposite

The conflict between L and SD takes place against a clear opinion trend. Surveys over the past year show that about ten times more voters express confidence in an SD-led government than in the Liberals having a role in government work.

READ ALSO: New record low for the Liberals

For L, the numbers are so low that in several surveys, the party does not even reach the parliamentary threshold – meaning that not only do voters want to avoid seeing L in the next government, but also in the parliament.