A close friend of Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson has for years spread antisemitic conspiracies and racist calls in far-right forums. The man, Fredrik Bermar, attended Åkesson's stag party and wedding but the friendship ended a year ago. Social Democrats' party secretary Tobias Baudin calls the association repugnant and links it to the party's culture.
According to an investigation by Expressen and Expo, Fredrik Bermar, a long-time friend of Jimmie Åkesson, has posted over a thousand entries in far-right chat forums over three years. The posts include antisemitic conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial, and racist threats. One example reads: 'The Holocaust is a lie and lies shall be revealed.' In another, Bermar writes that black people and Arabs belong in Auschwitz gas chambers and that 'Europe needs a new Adolf Hitler.' He also identifies politicians without bodyguard protection, such as Annie Lööf and Fredrik Reinfeldt, as 'the easiest targets.'
Bermar has been part of the SD leader's inner circle for over a decade, despite never being a party member. He attended Åkesson's stag party and wedding in the fall of 2024, and appears close to Åkesson in a group photo from the stag party. The Sweden Democrats' press office states that Åkesson ended the friendship about a year ago due to Bermar's changed behavior. 'Naturally, no one had any knowledge of this person's insane statements. It goes without saying that no normal person wants to be around such nonsense,' they write.
Reactions have been strong. Social Democrats' party secretary Tobias Baudin calls the revelation 'purely repugnant reading' and says it is not a one-off. 'Time and again, it has been revealed what company Jimmie Åkesson and large parts of the party leadership keep. It involves gang criminals, far-right extremists, and now a outright neo-Nazi person. This seems to be the Sweden Democrats' party culture,' he says. Baudin links it to demands from SD delegates at the party's upcoming congress to abolish the law on incitement against ethnic groups, and urges Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to act against the party's far-right extremism.