When the newspaper mapped the number of political independents in 2016, there were 148 members without party affiliation. At that time, 57 members were from The Sweden Democrats. Now, there are 162 political independents, of which 82 have left The Sweden Democrats.
It's clear that it damages our brand and partly the trust in us, says The Sweden Democrats' party secretary Mattias Bäckström Johansson, who is also a member of parliament and has a seat in Oskarshamn's municipal council, to the newspaper.
In the regions, there are a total of eleven political independents, all of whom were initially elected for The Sweden Democrats.
The reason why The Sweden Democrats members have become independents is that they have been excluded or jumped ship after internal conflicts. The latter, Bäckström Johansson believes, is due to the party still growing. Then, many come in who lack association experience and have difficulty submitting to majority decisions.
The Sweden Democrats have more mandates in municipalities and regions than eight years ago, and Bäckström Johansson believes the problem is decreasing.
We have raised the competence and have rigorous processes for character testing, he says to Dagens Samhälle.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, there was an incorrect summary in the first fact box regarding the total number of independents.
Political Independents in the Municipalities
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Number of politically unaffiliated in municipal councils and the party they left:
The Sweden Democrats: 82
The Social Democrats: 20
The Moderate Party: 15
The Left Party: 14
The Christian Democrats: 9
The Centre Party: 5
The Liberals: 4
The Green Party: 3
Other/local parties: 10
Total: 162
Source: Dagens Samhälle
Corrected: In an earlier version, the total sum was incorrect.
Number of political independents in regional councils. All were initially elected for The Sweden Democrats.
Gävleborg: 3
Dalarna: 3
Norrbotten: 2
Halland: 1
Västernorrland: 1
Västra Götaland: 1
Source: Dagens samhälle
