Swedish minister vows to stay on despite son's links to white supremacist groups

Local Sweden

2 days ago

Sweden's migration minister Johan Forssell, whose son was revealed to have links to white supremacist groups and the far-right, said on Thursday morning that he has no plans to step down.
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Forssell has been under intense pressure since it was revealed on Wednesday in Swedish media that he was the minister with a close family member who had links to extremist groups.
Speaking to the media for the first time about the scandal that has dominated the headlines in Sweden in recent days, Forssell confirmed in an interview with TV4's morning show Nyhetsmorgon that the family member in question was his 16-year-old son.
"I have a very regretful 15-year-old, who just turned 16," he said. "We've spent a lot of time having long, difficult discussions. It has not been easy, but this activity has ended," said the minister from the right-wing Moderates party.
"As a father, you're shocked," he said. "You ask yourself the question of what's real and what isn't."
But a defiant Forssell told TV4 that he has no plans to step down, and that he will remain migration minister.
"I'm going to continue to take responsibility. As a father for my children. I'm fully committed to implementing the policies which the Swedish people have given us support for. I think it's very important that that work continues," he said.
Forssell's identity was at first protected by Swedish media when the story first emerged of his son's links to the far-right and white supremacist groups. In order to keep the teenager's identity out of the media news sites only referred to him a close relative of a Swedish minister.
READ ALSO: Why are Swedish media suddenly naming Forssell as minister in white supremacism scandal?
According to the anti-racist newspaper Expo, which broke the story last week, Forssell's son had 'sought out and joined' some of Sweden's most racist groups, including Det fria Sverige and Aktivklubb Sverige, and collaborated with an activist from the Nordic Resistance Movement, which was classified as a terror group by the US last summer.
Forssell confirmed to TV4 that he was contacted by Swedish Security Police, Säpo, a few weeks ago.
"I had no idea about any of this when Expo got in touch," he said.
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As Migration Minister, Forssell has often spoken about parental responsibility in discussions about youth violence in society. He has been one of the most outspoken ministers arguing that parents in largely immigrant suburbs are responsible for keeping their children away from gangs.
He told TV4 that he still believes parental responsibility is important.
"I don't think parental responsibility has become any less important in light of this, the opposite in fact," he said.
"I'm completely convinced it is the cornerstone of a good society. But then of course parental responsibility doesn't mean that things always go right. Sometimes they go wrong."
"Of course, I wish this situation hadn't happened. I think all parents with children who understand the situation we're in also understand that," Forssell added.
TV4 also asked Forssell if he was grateful that Expo had discovered this information about his son.
"Yes, I think it's important that these environments are investigated," he said. "I think they're larger than most people understand. These problems must not be allowed to grow larger. My greatest focus is to take control of this situation at home with my child."
"I think, though, that a large discussion will come out of this. How many parents know about this situation we're in? I think that's very important," he said.
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On Wednesday, Forssell, was called by the Left Party to appear in front of a parliamentary committee to answer questions about his son's links to white power extremism, which resulted in almost all Swedish media, including The Local, revealing his identity.
Initially the minister had refused to respond to Expo's story, only issuing an anonymised statement to the Swedish news agency TT via the prime minister's press secretary
TV4 asked Forssell why he had chosen to step forward a week after Expo published their investigation.
"There has been a lot of speculation, and of course this is not a situation you want to be in," he said.
"All of this, everything that's happening... honestly, the fact that a minor has their personal details shared all over social media by extremists with very detailed, very threatening information."
"In that situation you don't have much choice than to try and be as transparent as you possibly can. But of course, it's not easy when it's not about me as a politician but about my family and my children," he said.
The only other government representative to comment on the scandal so far is Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer, who refused when approached by public broadcaster SVT last week to even speak about whether or not the (at the time still anonymous) relative's actions could constitute a security risk.