It was supposed to be the happiest day of Jimmie Åkesson’s life. However, for the leader of the far right Sweden Democrats (SD), the second-largest party in Sweden, it turned out to be anything but. What should have been a honeymoon period has instead been dominated by scandals, after it was revealed that one of the guests at the ceremony, mingling with influential politicians on the dance floor, was one Robert Hedarv – a senior figure in a notorious motorcycle gang known as the Comanches.
Classified as a criminal network by Swedish police, members of the gang have been charged with various offences in Denmark and Sweden, from extortion, narcotics and financial offences to murder.
It’s an embarrassing revelation for the SD, who have consistently positioned themselves as the toughest party on crime, and offered plenty of headline-grabbing proposals to the problems of gang crime – locking up gang members without suspicion of criminal activity, for example.
Åkesson maintains he knew nothing about his guest’s links to the world of organised crime, saying “I didn’t even know he owned a motorcycle”. But his denials have been met with ridicule, with story after story detailing his long relationship with Hedarv, who is not only married to one of Åkesson’s oldest friends, but has also been a frequent guest at events organised by both the Sweden Democrats and at Åkesson’s private parties.
Newspaper reports have painted Åkesson as something of a Gatsby figure, regularly hosting lavish costumed parties. That includes an annual affair described as a “glitterfest”, at which the movers and shakers of Sweden’s far right – and the odd biker gang member – apparently deck themselves out in all their spangliest, most be-sequinned finery.
Several prominent SD politicians have confirmed they knew of Hedarv’s connections to the Comanches gang prior to the wedding, but apparently they didn’t feel it necessary to inform their party leader. And a popular satirical news programme highlighted perhaps the most comical piece of evidence to undermine Åkesson’s claims of ignorance: an email sent to the SD information office several months before the ceremony, with the straightforward subject line: “MC criminal at Jimmy’s (sic) wedding”.
The SD have been unusually contrite, with leading figures in the party giving apologetic interviews and calling for all members with affiliations to motorcycle gangs to be thrown out.
And while Åkesson has unsuccessfully tried to brush the story away in rounds of TV and radio interviews, he has also acknowledged that Hedarv should not have been at the ceremony, saying it was “obviously a mistake” – a rare mea culpa.
Hedarv himself, meanwhile, says he and Åkesson are not close friends, but also denies any involvement in organised criminality.
The real damage from the fallout may be felt by the three parties in government, who are backed by the SD in a confidence-and-supply deal. The SD’s own voters tend not to care about such scandals, and a recent survey showed that 12% of SD voters say confidence in the party has increased as a result. But other voters do care.
The reaction from most I’ve spoken to has been disgust at the government as a whole, in particular the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, who, in his reluctance to comment on the story, appears more dependent on the SD’s support than ever.
His response to one journalist – “I have no opinion other than the one expressed by Jimmie Åkesson” – was met with derision, with some suggesting that it could serve as a neat summary of the government’s entire philosophy, and prompting the headline in one of Sweden’s biggest newspapers: “Have we ever had a more cowardly prime minister?”
But as I watched a recent TV debate between the leaders of Sweden’s eight major political parties, it was clear that for some, the SD’s troubles were a welcome distraction from their own indiscretions.
It’s been a scandal-hit autumn for several of the big parties, and parts of the debate descended into American-style finger-pointing and bickering, with the general reaction one of dismay over the immaturity and lack of civility on display.
With all that, the SD may well feel it won’t be long until the story moves on. As an Italian friend of mine who lives in Sweden put it: “A gangster at a politician’s wedding? Is that news?”
Joshua Worth is a writer and journalist based in Stockholm
