Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation, Benjamin Dousa, has entered the debate following a controversial comment by SD's Jessica Stegrud. The comment questioned the discussion of Swedish cultural canon by individuals of Kurdish and Persian descent, sparking a reaction from Dousa, who expressed feeling excluded from a culture he and his ancestors have worked hard to belong to.
Benjamin Dousa Responds to Controversial Comments by SD's Jessica Stegrud
Benjamin Dousa Responds to Controversial Comments by SD's Jessica Stegrud
Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation, Benjamin Dousa, has entered the discussion following a controversial comment by SD's Jessica Stegrud about Lawen Redar and Parisa Liljestrand.
"It felt like being pushed out of something that I, and relatives before me, have worked hard to belong to," Dousa writes in DN Culture.
The rift between the Tidö parties seems to be manifesting in various ways.
The latest wedge came after Sweden Democrat Jessica Stegrud questioned the discussion of Swedish cultural canon on Aktuellt by "a Swedish-born Kurd and a Persian," Lawen Redar (S) and Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand (M).
The post on X caused an uproar, writes Minister Dousa himself in DN Culture.
"I usually don't get emotionally affected by individual tweets or political statements. But this comment by Stegrud felt different."
He describes it as the feeling of being pushed out of something both he and his relatives have strived to belong to.
"Should Have Turned 90 Degrees"
"There is only one country I love and strive for every day. I have no other country. Don't push me out of it."
He acknowledges that SD has long been the only party to clearly express that Swedishness is more than just a legal matter, but adds that Stegrud's view is as misguided as the one from ten years ago, where it was frowned upon to claim there was a Swedish culture worth preserving.
"But from there, we should have turned 90 degrees, not 180."
Benjamin Dousa believes that Swedishness should be a solid core with open doors, but that the open Swedishness, after Stegrud's comment, no longer seems so open.
Stegrud herself has defended the post by stating she placed no value judgment on the word "speaking."
She has also received support from the SD leader, who said that the criticism against her is not "relevant" and that she has been interpreted in a malicious way.