The Christian Family Party has entered the Botkyrka municipal council. The newly established party secured four seats in the election, overtaking the Christian Democrats in size. The party was founded by former Christian Democrat politician Aday Bethkinne, who left the party after a conflict regarding his criticism of Pride.

Aday Bethkinne had already been one of the most popular Christian Democrat candidates in Botkyrka before his resignation. In the 2022 election, he received 842 personal votes—the second most of all candidates in the municipality.

The new party is clearly focused on Christian and social conservative values. Bethkinne has described his ambition to create a party that does not compromise on its core values.

– We have been clear about our Christian profile and campaigned hard. We have said that we will not compromise on our most important issues, said Bethkinne after the election results to Mitt i.

Wants to Strengthen the Nuclear Family

Family policy is central for the party. According to its own communications, the Christian Family Party wants to strengthen the nuclear family and emphasizes children’s safety and rights.

The party has also advocated for protecting children from what Bethkinne describes as sexualization and ideological influence. During the launch of the party, he among other things criticized drag queens reading stories to children and argued for a more restrictive abortion policy.

The abortion issue has been a clear dividing line from the Christian Democrats. When the Riksdag earlier this year decided to constitutionally protect abortion rights, Bethkinne called the decision a “day of sorrow” and wrote that, in his view, the decision amounted to a betrayal of unborn life.

The party has also opposed the new gender recognition law and, according to election campaign reports, wants to stop it.

Wants to Preserve Christian Heritage

Another key aspect of the party’s politics is maintaining Sweden’s Christian cultural heritage. Bethkinne has argued that Christian traditions such as Christmas, Easter, and Lucia should be protected, as should school graduation ceremonies in churches. The party also wants children and young people to receive greater knowledge of Sweden’s history, culture, and Christian legacy.

In the party’s campaign messages, they have highlighted, among other things, that it should continue to be natural to say “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays.”

Wants to Support Christian Minorities

At the same time, the party is not only targeting ethnically Swedish Christians. Bethkinne himself has an Assyrian/Syriac background and has raised issues for Christian minority groups in Sweden.

In Botkyrka, the party has advocated for strengthening the Syrian language. The proposal has included demands for a language and cultural center, more teaching of the mother tongue during school hours, more trained mother tongue teachers, as well as support for associations, cultural activities, and churches working to preserve the language.

Another local key issue is a memorial monument in Hallunda-Norsborg for Seyfo, the genocide of Assyrians/Syriacs and other Christian groups in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The party has also spoken about tax cuts.

Bethkinne has also described the party as both “Sweden-friendly” and minority-friendly, highlighting Syriacs, Assyrians, and Chaldeans as groups whose rights the party wants to protect.

The Conflict with the Christian Democrats and Pride

The party’s background is closely connected to Bethkinne’s conflict with the Christian Democrats. In 2025, Bethkinne published a post where he called the Stockholm Pride parade “the train of confusion.”

The statement was criticized by party colleagues and the then Christian Democrat leadership in Botkyrka. Bethkinne subsequently left the Christian Democrats and remained in the municipal council as an independent.

The conflict also became an important part of the new party’s profile. Bethkinne has said that he felt the Christian Democrats had lost their “Christian compass” and that there was a need for a party that more clearly stood by traditional Christian values.

Larger Than the Christian Democrats

In the local election, the results were significantly stronger than required for entry into the council. After the preliminary count, the Christian Family Party received 2,150 votes, 4.6 percent, and four seats in Botkyrka.

This makes the party the municipality’s seventh largest, surpassing the Christian Democrats, who received 2,018 votes, 4.3 percent, and three seats.

The party’s strongest support is in northern Botkyrka. In the Norsborg small houses district, KFP received as much as 34.9 percent, and the party also received over 20 percent in Slagsta S and Hallunda/Norsborg low-rise areas. The result is particularly remarkable as the party was only founded during the outgoing term.

The party now awaits four seats in the municipal council. So far, Bethkinne has been cautious about which parties KFP might be willing to cooperate with.

– We must analyze the result. We want to achieve maximum impact for our politics.

The rise of the Christian Family Party comes as the political map in Botkyrka is being reshaped. The Liberals and the Nyans Party are leaving the council, while KFP and the Independents are taking seats. The preliminary situation is also very close between the political blocs.

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