Svenska Dagbladet reports that the secretary of Sverigedemokraterna’s Party Chairman twittered “Finally, is this when we can say we told you so?”, a few hours after Sweden’s first suicide bombing occured in Stockholm on Saturday evening. Shortly after, William Petzall, MP for Sverigedemokraterna twittered, “I hate to say so but what did we say?”
Sverigedemokraterna’s Party Chairman Jimmie Akesson refused to condemn his party members’ statements on Twitter but denied that his party welcomes acts of terror. He added that it is positive that this will “cause a debate about this threat.” Akesson did not elaborate on the subject of the debate, or the mentioned threat, but is most likely referring to speculations that the perpetrator had Middle Eastern origins.
Johan Linander from the Centre Party questioned what sort of debate Akesson was referring to. “To my knowledge Sverigedemokraterna is against all Muslims that have ever immigrated to Sweden. Party members are blaming an entire minority for the acts of one individual which is very dangerous,” Linander commented.
Peter Eriksson, spokesperson for the Environmental Party, said that Sverigedemokraterna has been wishing for extended conflicts and contradictions in society so it can score political points, adding that the threat of a terrorist attack has been apparent for a long time.