What happened
Dagens Nyheter's editorial writer Lisa Magnusson notes that the Sweden Democrats are to review their funding of the media channel Riks following an open quarrel in the party. The conflict gained momentum when Riks' political editor Richard Sörman called for a policy establishing that the majority of the population should have a certain ethnic origin. The Sweden Democrats' party leader Jimmie Åkesson responded in Expressen Debatt that Swedishness is not solely about blood ties and questioned the channel's results. Magnusson points out that the party leadership has for a long time paid for the channel despite revelations about troll farms, disinformation, and severe personal attacks. According to Magnusson, the party only draws the line when the party leader's own position is questioned internally.
Our analysis
The fight between the Sweden Democrats and their own media channel is not about morals or principles. It is about packaging and power. When Riks for years has spread agitation against new Swedes, cast suspicion on Muslims, and run secret troll accounts, the party leadership sat quietly and paid the bills. The line was not crossed when people were exposed or when the democratic conversation was poisoned. The line was drawn exactly where the party leader's authority was questioned on live broadcast.
The core of the conflict is purely tactical. The party leadership wants to keep the door open to government power and polish the language so that the coalition partners are not embarrassed. The channel's editorial team wants instead to push for open nationalism based on origin. The result for new Swedes remains the same regardless of who wins the quarrel: the suspicion and demands for sorting out continue, only with different tones.
When the party now threatens to cut off the money, it shows who the channel has been serving all along. Riks was never an independent voice for old Swedes worried about the future. It has been a paid megaphone for the interests of the party leadership. Now the megaphone is biting the hand that feeds it, and suddenly the wallet is pulled out for scrutiny.
Explained
Riks is an online television and media channel launched by the Sweden Democrats in 2020 and which has predominantly been funded by the party.