The Tidö parties' silence after Åkesson's outburst against Muslims

Do you remember the reactions from the other Tidö leaders when Jimmie Åkesson (SD) went hard on Muslims in SVT's final debate? So when he claimed that those who want to "build their mosques and have their prayer calls" are not Swedes, and then question the legitimacy of the group's votes by saying that it could be the first election where Muslim immigration decides.

Probably not.

Because neither Ulf Kristersson (M), Simona Mohamsson (L) nor Ebba Busch (KD) said anything at all. Instead, it was Amanda Lind (MP) who protested. And when Busch got the floor, she explained that children with an immigrant background should know that they are welcome in Sweden and that she will fight for people's right to be religious Muslims - without mentioning Åkesson's outcome.

It is symptomatic of the mandate period.

Because despite the fact that Aid and Foreign Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa (M) emphasized just before the election that M are just as critical as the center parties to a lot of Richard Jomshof's (SD) posts on social media, which have been criticized for being Islamophobic, nothing is noticeable (SvD 12/9). The same applies to other Muslim actions, such as SD's proposal to demolish mosques and ban veils.

As if statements from high-ranking members would not affect society.

As a rule, these have at most led to lame distancing from the governing parties. Anyone who has ever dared to tell the truth has been criticized for violating the Tidö agreement's "respect clause" - remember when Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed (KD) distanced himself from prejudiced images that Jomshof shared on the platform X, after which it was reported that KD apologized. And Dousa believes that it is not what individual SD representatives do that matters, but politics. As if statements from high-ranking members wouldn't affect society - when the government can't even hold back.

Or how should one interpret that a woman in DN's report says that the attacks were worse during the election campaign? That another thinks that Swedes respect religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, but that the treatment is different towards Islam (10/9). And that Amnesty International Sweden wrote earlier this year that Sweden has been criticized by international organizations for allowing Islamophobia to be normalized in public discourse.

If not sooner, this should put the SD's point marking of Muslims in a new light. And if Ebba Busch is serious about making everyone feel welcome, it's time for her and the others in KD, L and M to start speaking out.

Tidö cooperation disappears with the change of power. The respect clause must fall with it.

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