About twenty bus drivers called in sick in protest against the Sweden Democrats' bus advertisement about return migration, which P4 Skaraborg first reported. "Do you miss Mogadishu? The return migration allowance will help you home" it read.
The bus drivers themselves originally came from Somalia. Afterwards, Västtrafik chose to take down the advertising, which was considered to be a work environment problem.
"It is important to us that our drivers feel safe when they drive for us. We also saw that there is a risk of damage to our vehicles. That is why these particular ads were taken down, while other ads from the Sweden Democrats are still posted," writes press communicator Henrik Kjellberg in an email to DN.
Several SD party members have reacted to the decision. Riksdag member Tobias Andersson tells P4 that Västtrafik is "censoring" the party. Håkan Lösnitz, group leader and regional councilor in the Västra Götaland region, calls it "election sabotage".
- There will be election sabotage. Informing about a decision that has been decided in the Riksdag cannot be a problem, must not be a problem. Västtrafik approved the advertisement and now they are backing down because of the protests of a small group. The CEO should be held accountable for this, he tells SVT.
Kajsa Falasca, docent in media and communication science at Mittuniversitetet, disagrees.
- From a democratic perspective, this is not election censorship or election sabotage. Such concepts are about political actors being prevented from expressing their opinions or participating in the democratic conversation. This is about a specific advertising space and a decision about which advertising may be there. The Sweden Democrats still have full opportunity to advance their political message in a number of other arenas.
Nicklas Håkansson, docent in media and communication science at JMG, University of Gothenburg, also opposes the use of the term "censorship".
- The usual meaning of censorship is about authorities and the state restricting freedom of expression by controlling messages in various ways in advance and preventing them from being published or made public. That is not the question, he says.
If the taken down advertisement could constitute a breach of contract, the experts leave it unsaid - they speak from a democratic perspective. And Kajsa Falasca states that whoever provides advertising space must have rules for which advertising is accepted.
- Since Västtrafik is a public company, they must at the same time treat political actors equally. In this case, their justification is about the working environment and the rules that apply to the advertising surfaces, not about the Sweden Democrats being prevented from expressing their politics.
Just the day before, parts of SD's advertising at Central Station in Stockholm were taken down, following a decision by the property owner Jernhusen. It concerned posters stating that people "are not welcome in Sweden" if they commit crimes, live on benefits, do not learn Swedish or misbehave.
According to Jernhusen, the message, which was one of several at the station, had not been approved in advance. It was also considered that it could be misinterpreted as meaning that some were not allowed to stay at the station.
SD's communications manager Joakim Wallerstein tells Dagens Media that it was the subcontractor Ocean Outdoor, which sells the advertising surfaces, that had broken down in its communication with Jernhusen. Ocean Outdoor also states that the management has broken down.
The experts highlight that SD can gain attention in both cases. And it can be a conscious method.
The party has also used advertising in previous election campaigns, which led to strong reactions. Before the last election, for example, there was a big debate about the advertising campaign at the Östermalm subway station in Stockholm. In the end, SL demolished and stopped parts of it due to disorder and security risks.
- From SD's point of view, you are aware that these are provocative types of advertising that you come up with. The party wants a reaction of this kind so that there will be a lot of press and attention. Then you have still won from it, says Nicklas Håkansson.
Claiming censorship can be part of it.
- Despite the fact that the SD is a party with quite a lot of power nowadays, they want to appear as if there is a kind of establishment that is constantly working against the party. Then you resort to expressions like censorship.
Words like censorship and election sabotage can simultaneously create distrust in the democratic system, according to Kajsa Falasca.
- Sabotage and censorship are serious democratic problems that occur in non-democratic countries. It is not something that should be thrown out easily as an accusation. I think that is very serious. Moreover, applying such concepts to this type of conflict risks eroding their meaning.
Since the parties' election posters went up around the country, there have also been several reports of posters in urban environments being torn down, damaged or defaced. Mathias Larsson, deputy chief prosecutor at the Prosecutor's Chamber in Malmö, has previously said that such actions can lead to judgments of damage, slander or in some cases incitement against a group of people.
