Municipal Top Executives Broke Into Sweden Democrats’ Office – Drew Mustache on Åkesson

Earlier this spring, the Sweden Democrats’ office in Färgelanda municipality was subjected to vandalism. On the desk, someone had placed a stuffed bird of prey, while a portrait of SD leader Jimmie Åkesson had been vandalized with a black-painted mustache.

It was the chairman of the municipal executive board in Färgelanda, SD politician Christoffer Wallin, who received the visit to his office while he was not present. Wallin describes the incident as both unsettling and inappropriate.

According to him, the symbolism of the mustache and the buzzard bird can be associated with Nazi connotations, something he takes very seriously. Furthermore, Wallin believes the situation creates an unhealthy work environment for politicians and civil servants in the municipality. He considers the act to have crossed a line.

“It’s tragic. One can define things in various ways, but it is a workplace environment problem. We are just trying to restore order in the municipality, and then you don’t want to be harassed,” he told the local newspaper Dalslänningen, which was first to report on the incident.

The case was handled by municipal director Katrin Siverby, who chose not to file a police report but instead to have the municipality conduct an internal investigation.

According to Siverby, the security at the municipal building is designed so that unauthorized persons cannot move freely in the corridors without a pass card or being let in by an employee.

Stock image common buzzard / Christoffer Wallin (SD). Photo: Derek Keats / Private

Two Top Executives Dismissed

On Wednesday, Färgelanda municipality issued a press release about the incident. The information states that the municipality’s investigation into the incident in the SD politician’s office resulted in two people being dismissed. According to SVT, these were two senior executives behind the action.

The executives reportedly explained their actions as “a joke” in the investigation. When the state broadcaster reported the news about the firings, their reporter downplayed the seriousness of the incident by asking the municipal director: “Is it really that serious?”

“There are limits to how one handles things in the workplace and what is acceptable in a professional organization. This is a matter of work environment,” Siverby replied to the state reporter’s question.

The dismissals also mean a cost for taxpayers. This involves compensation corresponding to twelve and six months’ salary, respectively, for the two executives. However, the municipal director does not want to comment on the exact amounts involved.