Busch offered Åkesson sponge cake
Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Busch offered Åkesson sponge cake after speech row

Jimmie Åkesson (SD) criticized Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch in his summer speech. Busch then quickly rerouted her campaign tour to Åkesson's Sölvesborg - where she had a peace coffee with the SD leader. We agree on four more years for a blue-yellow election victory, says Busch.

The mood in the blue-yellow camp was not the best after Jimmie Åkesson's summer speech on Saturday. He questioned whether Ebba Busch and the Christian Democrats can be trusted. According to Åkesson, Busch has flirted too much with the Social Democrats lately.

Does a vote for the Christian Democrats risk being a vote for Magdalena Andersson? Åkesson asked himself.

I think it's a bad strategy for the blue-yellow camp.

Busch responded by quickly changing her campaign route and heading to Åkesson's hometown. Christian Democrats from southern Sweden were also urged at short notice to head to Stortorget in central Sölvesborg.

Jimmie Åkesson wondered where we are going. There is no better place to answer than here. It is better to talk directly to each other, Busch says.

“Great coffee”

Before she went on stage, she had stopped by Åkesson's house and had coffee and a sponge cake.

"I had a great coffee with Jimmie in Sölvesborg. We have straightened out the question marks that exist," she says.

After her speech in Sölvesborg, she is asked if Jimmie Åkesson trusts her now after coffee.

"You can ask him that question," Busch tells TT.

Kristersson: Trusts Busch

Ebba Busch has previously said that she could release the Social Democrats' Magdalena Andersson as prime minister if Sweden finds itself in a crisis, war or an exceptional situation. She does not want to specify what such an exceptional situation might be.

Åkesson writes on Facebook after the meeting with Busch that he does not think that "it is unreasonable to then ask the question" about the meaning of an exceptional situation.

"It needs to be sorted out before I can continue to lend my credibility and that of the Sweden Democrats to the Christian Democrats. And it needs to be sorted out publicly, not in a closed room between four eyes."

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M), who often points out that unity is one of Tidö's strongest cards, is not concerned about the mood after Åkesson's speech. According to Kristersson, it is not surprising that things get heated during an election campaign and that there are both "hugs and bickering". He says he has full confidence in Busch.

She would never do an Annie Lööf and suddenly release a Social Democratic government, says Kristersson.

In this story
AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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