Right-wing extremism | Politician's son was active as a neo-Nazi

In the end, the Swedish politician's only option was to go public. His country's major media outlets had remained silent for days after the anti-racist online magazine "Expo" reported in the first week of July that the "family member" of a government minister in Stockholm sympathized with groups that advocate "white supremacy" and was involved in a martial arts club belonging to the neo-Nazi scene. Because the person in question was a minor, they initially remained silent. The news that his father was Johan Forssell, head of the migration department and a prominent figure in the conservative Moderate Party, initially spread only on Twitter.

Among the traditional media, only the long-established regional newspaper "Västerbottens Kuriren" (VK) initially let the cat out of the bag last Monday, without naming the teenager. A commentary also raised the question of the state of internal security in Sweden if Forssell's relative moves in the right-wing extremist milieu. The minister's "outing" to VK brought its editor, Marcus Melinder, a call from Martin Borgs, the Moderates' head of strategy and communications, who bitterly complained about the "exposure of a minor." "A new line has been crossed," Melinder commented on this attempt to exert pressure. Other media outlets are said to have been contacted by the party.

After his name finally made the rounds, Johan Forssell gave an interview to the private television station TV4 on Thursday. The minister said that as a father he was "shocked and appalled" by his 16-year-old son's activities. He had no knowledge of them. After long and difficult discussions, however, the teenager now expressed deep remorse: "These activities are over, but our discussions will of course continue." The minister, who was always keen to emphasize the importance of good parenting, placed his remarks within the "larger societal problem" that many parents know little about what their children are doing on social media and are asking how they can be protected from harmful influences there.

Although he followed his son's social media accounts, Minister Forssell claims he knew nothing of his son's right-wing extremist involvement. He learned about it from the Swedish domestic intelligence agency Säpo around the same time the report was published in the anti-fascist magazine "Expo." Säpo knows at least as much as "Expo" has discovered. According to the report, Forssell's son participated in meetings of the neo-Nazi network Aktivklubb Sverige and also attempted to recruit members for the organization Det fria Sverige (Free Sweden), which is also part of the white power movement. He was also in contact with the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR), which is known for racist violence.

For the politician, who intends to hold on to his office, the affair is far from over, even though Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has thrown his support behind him. The Social Democrats, the Left Party, and the Greens want to hold a parliamentary hearing for the minister. The minority government of Conservatives, Christian Democrats, and Liberals relies on the support of the right-wing nationalist Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag. This means, in particular, concessions on immigration and asylum policy, for which Johan Forssell is responsible as minister. His credo is to move away from the influx of problem-causing asylum seekers and towards the recruitment of skilled workers who will strengthen Sweden's competitiveness. He wants to make it more difficult to acquire citizenship and link it to an "honorable way of life." People associated with extremist organizations and viewed as a threat to democratic values should be deported.