Jessica Stegrud Removed from Sweden Democrats' Party Board Amid Controversy

Jessica Stegrud, a member of the Sweden Democrats (SD), is being removed from the party's board ahead of the national congress in November, following a series of controversies and internal criticism. According to the nomination committee's proposal, Stegrud will not be part of the new party board, with MP Dennis Dioukarev proposed as her replacement. This development was reported by Svenska Dagbladet and confirmed by Dagens Nyheter.

Stegrud has faced strong criticism over recent months, primarily for her comments about Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand’s background on social media platform X, which drew disapproval from other Tidö coalition parties. Additionally, Expo revealed her participation in a filmed confrontation at Stockholm Central Station during the summer, further fueling internal discontent. Mattias Bäckström Johansson, SD's party secretary, stated that the nomination committee was influenced by these incidents in their decision.

Despite some defense from SD leader Jimmie Åkesson, significant criticism within SD members suggested that Stegrud's actions distracted from important party announcements. Her rank on the party's proposed parliamentary list also dropped drastically from eighth place in 2022 to forty-fourth. The proposal excluding Stegrud and including Dioukarev will be officially presented at SD's congress later in November.