Indicator history

A County politician representing the nationalist xenophobic party, The Sweden Democrats, which is in the Swedish parliament, was forced to resign from his job after sending racist emails to the daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet. In one of his letters he wrote that "Are those who come from earthen floors totally nuts?". The email came following a series of articles published by SvD describing the conditions of several rental properties in the Stockholm suburbs of Rinkeby and Tensta both of which have a high concentration of immigrant residents. The articles detailed problems with mold and other problems which had been ignored by landlords. After reading the articles, the politician sent emails to the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. He wrote that:  "They not only bring their dyslexia with them, but also a total lack of culture and knowledge, as well as bedbugs, lice, and cockroaches, and like in the picture, their detrimental effect on our homes". In an email reviewed by Sveriges Radio and sent in 2008, prior to election to the local council in Knivsta, he wrote to several politicians asking, "Why should we get stressed out over how to provide for your negroes?". In an interview with the politician, he stood by the opinions expressed in the email, but explained they belonged to him as a private individual and did not represent the views of his political party. The Sweden Democrats announced in February 2011, that the politician was leaving the party and his position at the local council in Knivsta.