Swedish Left Party MP Lorena Delgado Varas has been expelled from the party’s parliamentary group after she made several inflammatory remarks on social media.
“She has been excluded from the Riksdag group and that is how it works. We think she can continue as a member but not in our parliamentary work,” Ida Gabrielsson, deputy party chairman, told news outlet Dagens Nyheter on May 6.
According to Swedish media, the final straw was a post by Varas that the Jewish Central Council reported as anti-Semitic and an incitement to racial hatred.
Ultimately, prosecutors dropped the case because an intent could not be proven but as there were numerous similar incidents previously, the party decided to act.
One such incident in 2022 was when Varas posed with flags in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea for, among others, the terror-classified PKK, drawing the ire of many within her own ranks.
An online petition against her at the time gathered more than 1,000 signatures, including from former party leader Lars Ohly.
The Left Party has had recurring problems with members who, in the protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, have not kept a clear stand against anti-Semitism and sympathy for terrorist groups. A couple have left the party for this reason and another was previously expelled.
“I understand that it can arouse emotions but the decision has been made,” party leader Nooshi Dadgostar said at a press conference on May 6.
During the same press conference, the party’s economic policy spokesperson and deputy party leader Ida Gabrielsson said it wanted Varas to resign her seat in the Riksdag, adding she could be expelled from the party if not.
Later, though, Dadgostar seemed to backtrack somewhat on her comments: “We have not seen it that seriously but it is a mistake,” she said.
She added, though: “There are a number of occasions that this individual has shown poor judgement and then you cannot have such an important and difficult assignment.”
The decision has split the party.
Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported that 17 local party associations and almost 900 members had signed a petition in support of Varas.
Protesting against her dismissal, Swedish MP Daniel Riazat decided to quit the Left Party board. “There have been some questions about the very serious and scandalous decision to exclude our dear comrade Lorena from the parliamentary group,” he posted on facebook on May 6.
“I can say that I have chosen to leave the party board.”
