On Sunday, Gellerbrant commented on the information for the first time in a post on Facebook.
"The ongoing drive has placed an inhuman strain on my family," he writes.
Gellerbrant says that he is now immediately going on parental leave and will hand in his access card and computer at the Government Offices "to gain further distance and to avoid shifting the focus in the ongoing election campaign."
Expo magazine revealed on Thursday that Gellerbrant's partner, who moved from Russia to Sweden in 2006, has been spreading articles and posts from channels known for Russian propaganda and disinformation for ten years. She has also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Obvious sarcasm”
In the Facebook post, Gellerbrant writes that these are "claims and isolated information" aimed at "making her person suspicious based on her origin in Russia."
He writes that Expo has published old posts from social media that have been reproduced without context, and without explaining what, according to the partner, is "obvious sarcasm and irony."
Gellerbrant believes that his partner's social media posts express criticism of the Russian regime. He also says that on February 24, 2022, the day of Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, his partner described it on social media as the worst day of her life.
Gellerbrant says that he has been transparent within the framework of the security clearance carried out on him by the Government Offices.
Rejects criticism
Expo's editor-in-chief Anna Fröjd writes on Expo's website that the information is well documented and that Gellerbrant avoids commenting on "the most serious information" in the review.
Fröjd points to his partner's involvement in an amateur theater, where several people had prominent roles in the now defunct Russian National Union Rurik.
According to Expo, the theater's director has participated in conferences where people from Russian intelligence have participated. The theater has also been listed by Russian state actors as a representative of Russia in Sweden and the theater has received funding from the Russian state.
The Social Democrats' party secretary Tobias Baudin welcomes the fact that Gellerbrant's access card has now been submitted, but says that he should have been suspended and that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) has several questions to answer.
What does he plan to do now? Is there sensitive information about our country's security that has left the cabinet and even reached other countries? he tells TT.
Kristersson tells SVT News that the issue is ultimately a question for the SD. Like Baudin, he welcomes Gellerbrant taking parental leave.
I think that's a good solution, he tells SVT.
The magazine Expo revealed on Thursday that an SD official – a woman who moved from Russia to Sweden in 2006 – had for ten years spread articles and posts with Russian narratives from Russian state agencies and the news service RT, as well as from other channels known for Russian propaganda and disinformation. She also allegedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The woman – currently on parental leave – is living with Gustav Gellerbrant, who is a top SD official in the Government Offices. He is the SD's head of the coordination office where all important issues in the Tidö Agreement are negotiated.
