Swedish far-right leader embroiled in gang-related controversy

The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson (SD, ECR), is now in hot water after a media investigation revealed that he allegedly knew the president of a motorcycle club with links to organised crime.

Åkesson claimed in a post on X that he was only "superficially acquainted" with Comanches motorcycle club leader Robert Hedarv, despite inviting him to his wedding earlier this month, drawing criticism from both the opposition and the ruling centre-right coalition.

Although he claimed he was unaware of Hedarv's links to criminal gangs, the news sparked a backlash from leading centre-right politicians, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who stressed the need for leaders to keep an eye on who they associate with.

“Åkesson himself has explained how it came about that this person was at his wedding, if you have more questions, you can ask him”, Prime Minister Kristersson's press secretary Hanna Strömberg said on Monday.

Douglas Thor, chairman of the Moderate Party's youth wing, said it was 'extremely unwise' for Åkesson to meet with a leader of the criminal motorcycle gang Comanches.

“It is clear that Jimmie Åkesson knew about this,” Thor told newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

The news heralds new tensions between the hard-right Sweden Democrats (the country's second-largest party) and Sweden's ruling centre-right coalition, which holds power due to a non-participation agreement with the hard-right party.

Despite Åkesson's arguments, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet claims that Hedarv and the Sweden Democrats leader have actually known each other since at least 2016, many years before Hedarv became president of the Comanches club.

In addition, the Sweden Democrats' press department was informed in July by Expo that the leader of a criminal motorcycle gang was in contact with the party's leadership.

The Comanches biker gang is relatively new in Sweden, but was previously known in Denmark, where it was in conflict with other gangs.

Several members of the gang have been convicted of drug and weapons offences, and a report by Swedish research company Acta Publica warned of close ties between Hedarv and several members of the Swedish parliament.

Hedarv himself has been convicted of various traffic and financial offences, and has a history with the Bandidos motorcycle gang.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)