Published 06.04
Hampus Söder, 26, was met by an unusual sight on his holiday in Marbella.
The Sweden Democrats had put up election posters on the streets of the Spanish resort.
– I didn’t know if I had sunstroke.
On Thursday, Hampus Söder was on its way down to the port of Puerto Banús in Marbella to pick up her engagement ring. He and his fiancee are on vacation in the Spanish resort where his parents have an apartment.
Hampus was lost in his own thoughts during the walk, but suddenly caught sight of something that made him stop.
– I didn’t know if it was a joke at first or if it was real, says Hampus.
Among the other advertising signs down in the harbor were also election posters from The Sweden Democrats.
At first Hampus thought he had sunstroke, but when he got closer to the posters and read the fine print, he saw that it was the Sweden Democrats in Stockholm who were behind it.
– It was really unexpected to see Swedish domestic politics in Spain on a sun holiday. It’s probably the last thing I expected to see down here, says Hampus.
SD: “Good place to campaign”
Gabriel Kroon is group leader for the Sweden Democrats in the city of Stockholm. He says that the 40 posters that have been put up in and around Marbella are above all a local campaign aimed at Stockholmers.
– There are a lot of Stockholmers down there, especially during June, July and August. We thought it was a great place to campaign, says Gabriel Kroon.
On one of the posters, Gabriel Kroon himself is seen, together with the text “Foreign gang criminal? After the election you will be sent home”.
He says that many Swedes who have moved down to Spain have done so because of insecurity in Sweden.
– There are many who have moved to Spain because they are not safe in Sweden. They feel unsafe with this gang crime and all these shootings that have been, says Kroon.
The second poster shows the member Linnéa Vinge (SD) and the text “Borta bra but home best (As long as S doesn’t take power)”.
The messages on the posters that are currently up are specially written to target the Swedes abroad who live there and those who are there on holiday.
And during the summer, new posters will be put up, with new messages.
– They will roll all the way to the election, says Kroon.
