New Left Party Candidates Revealed – Hamas, Anti-Semitism, and Putin Continue to Shake the Party

The Left Party’s troubles with controversial candidates are mounting ahead of the election. An additional eight people have been removed from the party’s lists following revelations about antisemitic conspiracy theories as well as praise for Hamas and Vladimir Putin. In total, 33 candidates have now been excluded from the Left Party’s election lists after similar exposés.

What could first be described as isolated incidents is now difficult to dismiss as mere exceptions. During the election campaign, the Left Party has repeatedly been forced to act after revelations about candidates spreading antisemitism, expressing support for terrorist organizations, or praising authoritarian regimes.

The latest investigation by Expressen shows that a further eight candidates have published material that led the party to withdraw their candidacies. Among the information revealed are antisemitic conspiracy theories, praise for Hamas, and support for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. All eight have been struck from the lists following these revelations.

It is therefore no longer just a matter of a few highlighted individuals. Previously, Expressen identified 25 candidates linked to antisemitism, Holocaust denial, praising terror, and commendations of dictatorships. With these eight new cases, the number now stands at 33 people.

A pattern that refuses to disappear

Especially troubling for the Left Party is that the problems keep reoccurring in the same areas: antisemitism, Hamas, and support for authoritarian regimes. The Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism has previously warned that the recurring revelations raise questions about how well the party is able to identify and address antisemitism within its own ranks.

The Left Party’s secretary Maria Forsberg told Expressen that the individuals in question have expressed various types of conspiracy theories and made inappropriate posts on social media. The party has therefore decided that they will no longer be candidates.

Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar has previously said that she feels confident with the remaining candidates on the lists. These new revelations now put that assurance to the test once again.

Hamas and Putin as Part of the Same Problem Complex

Hamas has become a particularly sensitive issue for the Left Party since the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Previous investigations have shown how people with links to the party have praised Hamas and the attack, while others have spread antisemitic messages or questioned the Holocaust.

Now there are new candidates who, according to Expressen’s investigation, have expressed support for Hamas and Putin. This creates a picture of a party where some candidates hold far more radical views on Israel, Hamas, and Russia than the party leadership wishes to be associated with.

This is also what makes the issue politically bigger than just individual inappropriate social media posts. The Left Party is a parliamentary party and is part of the red-green government alternative. Therefore, the question of the values held by the party’s candidates is also a question of who may be entrusted with political positions in the future.

“It’s not about a few outliers”

Criticism of the Left Party has already grown severe from other parties. The Liberals’ leader Simona Mohamsson has described the problems as structural and accused the Left Party of failing to address them.

Meanwhile, the Left Party leadership defends its handling by saying that candidates expressing antisemitism or other unacceptable opinions are removed as soon as the party becomes aware of them.

The issue is that this has now happened so many times that it is becoming increasingly hard to describe the revelations as isolated exceptions. When another eight candidates are removed from election lists just days before the election, the central question is no longer just who has had to leave the Left Party, but why they were allowed to become candidates in the first place.

For the Left Party, the challenge now is to convince voters that the problems are truly being resolved. After 33 candidates have been removed, that is a much harder message to sell than it was when the first cases were uncovered.