Nooshi Dadgostar faces potential challenges from a new leftist movement as two former Left Party members, Lorena Delgado Varas and Daniel Riazat, consider forming an alliance with other ex-leftist figures. This movement aims to create a more activist-oriented left, focusing on issues like Palestine and the working class in Sweden. The development follows their departure from the Left Party amid internal disputes over the party's direction.
New Leftist Movement May Challenge Dadgostar Ahead of Elections
New Leftist Movement May Challenge Dadgostar Ahead of Elections
Nooshi Dadgostar may face a challenge from a new leftist movement ahead of next year's election. According to Expressen's sources, the two expelled members, Lorena Delgado Varas and Daniel Riazat, are considering forming an alliance with other former leftist figures.
"There is a longing for a more activist party," says a source from the Left Party. The party Nyans is also mentioned as a potential partner.
Over the weekend, Lorena Delgado Varas and Daniel Riazat, both members of parliament elected for the Left Party, held an impromptu press conference.
They announced their departure from the party, preempting a looming expulsion that was to be announced at the party's board meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Delgado Varas and Riazat also stated that they would reveal their next steps soon. It is clear that both will remain in parliament as independents, known as political wildcards.
New Leftist Movement
According to Expressen, the departures could lead to a completely new leftist movement where left-wing figures unite.
Initially, it is said to involve mainly digital collaboration, where like-minded individuals will work to push politics on issues related to Palestine, the situation for the working class in Sweden, and residents in Swedish suburbs.
Among the organizations mentioned as potential collaborators are the movement Vänsterfronten, recently founded by Kristofer Lundberg, a former Left Party chairman in Angered. He was expelled from the Left Party last October after supporting the terrorist-classified Palestinian PFLP.
"We must unite the broad left. The Palestine movement, the peace movement, the women's movement, the youth movement, and we invite others to participate. We are in discussions with a number of leftist groups, both associations, networks, and social movements," he previously told the socialist newspaper Internationalen.
The socialist party Solidaritet, founded by Björn Alling, who was expelled from the Left Party in 2023, and Mikail Yüksel's Muslim party Nyans, are also mentioned as potential partners in a broad leftist collaboration.
According to sources, there is currently no finished plan for a new leftist party. The primary focus now is to build an alliance for a more activist left, something critics of the expulsions have called for. In the next step, such an alliance could evolve into a party.
Government School
The conflict within the Left Party, according to Expressen's sources, stems from the direction that Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar has taken for her party.
She and the leadership have heavily invested in ensuring that the Left Party must take a place in a red-green government if Magdalena Andersson (S) gains voter support next autumn. Only there can the Left Party make a real impact, they have said.
Among other things, the Left Party has trained several of its representatives in a special government school to prepare the party for a completely new role.
However, not everyone is pleased with the change. One criticism is that the Left Party has adapted too much to the Social Democrats, erasing its own identity. This was also what Lorena Delgado Varas said at the weekend's press conference.
"Organizationally, it has become a Stalinist organization, but politically it is social democratic," she said.
Lorena Delgado Varas and Daniel Riazat have long been a headache for Dadgostar and her inner circle.
Delgado Varas shared an image with anti-Semitic content on social media in the spring, something she later apologized for, claiming she shared it by mistake. She has also repeatedly worn a Palestinian scarf in the parliamentary chamber, which is against the rules and has led to a reprimand from the Speaker. Riazat, in turn, has loudly supported her and is considered to have too harsh a tone towards party members with different views.
Expressen has sought Nooshi Dadgostar as well as Delgado Varas and Riazat. Dadgostar declined an interview, citing that expulsion matters are internal affairs and are treated as such.
On Monday evening, Daniel Riazat returned an email to Expressen. He avoided saying anything about the future but emphasized that he and Delgado Varas "in no way" will cooperate or associate with the party Nyans.