Expo reveals: Björn Söder will lead the Swedish delegation in OSCE

[Written by Erik Glaad for Expo, published by Expo 12rh October 2022, translated by Activism-works.blogspot.com 13th of October 2022) 

 Björn Söder (SD) was named as a possible candidate for Speaker of the House.  Critics feared it would damage Sweden's reputation internationally.  Expo can now reveal that on Thursday Björn Söder will be elected to the Swedish OSCE delegation.

-"It's obvious that that will damage our reputation" says Patrik Oksanen, expert in defence and security issues.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe-OSCE, is the largest organisation for regional security with 57 member states .  Besides peace and security in Europe,  some of it's key areas of focus is the work for the rights, freedom of press, legal protection and democracy for minorities. 

Expo can now reveal that Swedish Democrats ' Björn Söder will be named chairman of the Swedish delegation in the  OSCE Parliament.  This is confirmed by independent sources with good connections in the delegations workings  

The decision means that Söder will lead the delegations work and represent Sweden.   In cases where it's impossible to get a majority result in decisions made , he will have the final deciding vote. 

Björn Söder has by his own admission been a member of the delegation since 2014. But the election of him as the chairman of the delegation will harm Sweden's reputation,  according to Senior Fellow at the think-tank Frivärld Patrik Oksanen, specialising in defence and security issues.  

-Sweden has a long tradition in flying the banners high for Human Rights,  freedom of the press, and working against disinformation.  These are not exactly the kind of issues you would imagine Björn Söder working for.  

Björn Söder is a veteran in Swedish Democrats leadership.  He got elected to a spot in their party leadership in 1997, and has remained there ever since. 

Björn Söder has been criticised on several occasions for his views on minorities and the LGBTQ community and in 2009 he even compared Islam to nazism.  

In 1998 he was caught on camera with the SS veteran Franz Schönhuber during a SD election meeting.  He has likened homosexuality with six with animals and called Pride a 'twisted pr stunt" 

During this last year Söder continuously claims the Swedish media is a propaganda machine for the political Leftwing.  After the Swedish Committee against Antisemitism's chairman Willy Silberstein , in a debate with the Dagens Industri's writer PM Nilsson, expressed a worry about SD's progress in the elections, in the SAT'S 'Aktuelt'.  Silberstein pointed out the fact that the party was created by people from by Swedish nazis. 

After that interview Söder was raging on Twitter and remarked that public service had to be "reformed from the ground up"

Patrik Oksanen describes the election as a small comfort for Björn Söder,  after he lost out on the Speaker of the House post,  but it's a breakthrough for the Swedish Democrats.  

-"What is surprising is that there seems to be no 'cordon sanitaire' (red line, limitations) in regards to Swedish Democrats issues in foreign politics in the Kristersson government",  he says

Expo has asked Söder for a comment, through the party pr division,  but he has not responded.

But to the newspaper Expressen he says that it's an honorable task to lead the Swedish delegation.   He sees no controversy at all in him leading the delegation and that it's not a party politics job. 

The remark that it would harm Sweden's reputation abroad he sees as completely ridiculous. 

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Written by Erik Glaad, for Expo 

Published by Expo 12 th October 2022

Translated by Activism-works.blogspot.com