Sweden’s migration minister has said he is “shocked and horrified” after discovering his teenage son’s involvement in far-right extremist groups.
Johan Forssell, whose centre-right party runs a governing coalition that depends on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, said on Thursday that he had been contacted a few weeks ago by the Swedish security service, Säpo, about his 16-year-old son’s activities.
The minister decided to go public after the anti-racism magazine Expo revealed that a “close relative of a Swedish minister” was active in the violent far right.
Despite following his son on social media, where his son in turn followed far-right activists and influencers, Forssell said he had no idea about his involvement until he was contacted by journalists.
“As a father you are shocked, you are horrified. I have a deeply remorseful 15-year-old, who just turned 16,” Forssell told TV4. “These activities are over but our conversations will, of course, continue.”
Writing on social media, he said he hoped it would be an “eye-opener” for other parents, saying the findings “highlight a bigger societal issue”. “How much do we actually know about what our children do on social media and how can we protect them from being dragged into something we don’t want?”
Forssell said his son, who has not been named, is not suspected of any crime.
Far-right extremism has long been present in Sweden, but experts say recent years have seen a shift towards smaller, more agile groups, often based around fitness, recruiting boys and young men on social media platforms before moving to other private platforms. The number of active groups in the Swedish far right are believed to be at their highest point since 2008.
The Sweden Democrats, which have roots in neo-Nazism, became the country’s second biggest party and gained a powerful role in the direction of the governing coalition at the last general election.
Forssell, of the Moderates party, decided to speak publicly, he said, in order to protect his son. “This has not been about protecting me as a politician, this is about protecting a minor,” he said.
But it is already having political ramifications. The opposition parties have all called on Forssell to be summoned to the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) as soon as possible and have asked how much the government knew about the boy’s activities.
The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on Thursday that he still had confidence in his migration minister, saying he had “acted as a responsible parent should when you learn that your child is doing wrong and is in bad company”.
The Left party accused Forssell, who supports lowering the age of criminal responsibility for young people from 15 to 14, of double standards.
“Johan Forssell and the government have had a very high tone when it comes to the responsibility one has for one’s relatives’ connections to, for example, gang crime – now they seem to have a very different approach,” said the Left party’s migration policy spokesperson, Tony Haddou.
Forssell said: “I know that there are other parties that want to score political points on this. If they want to do it, they can do it, but above all, this is a task for me as a father.”
He planned to remain in his ministerial post, he said, adding that he was “fully focused on implementing the policies for which we have received support from the Swedish people”.
Säpo declined to comment on Forssell’s case, but said it was “constantly working to monitor violent extremist environments in Sweden”. The spokesperson added: “Säpo generally has a good picture of the security situation around our protected persons, including any threats and vulnerabilities.”
