Ida Karkiainen
Swedish minister showed Hitler salute as a teenager – old photo causes outrage
Swedish Consumer Protection Minister Ida Karkiainen
© Sören Andersson / TT / Picture Alliance
In Sweden, a spicy photo is currently causing a stir around the consumer protection minister Ida Karkiainen. It shows you as a teenager giving the Hitler salute – and could now cost you your career.
She is not the first politician to be overtaken by her youthful sins: In a photo that has been shared many times, the Swedish politician Ida Karkiainen can be seen raising her arm in the Hitler salute as a teenager. The 33-year-old Social Democrat has only been the new Minister for Consumer Protection and Public Administration for a few weeks. Sweden’s newly elected Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson reacted with sharp criticism: “This is profoundly devoid of history and extremely inappropriate.”
Karkiainen himself does not deny the authenticity of the picture. However, the photo she showed at a party when she was around 15 or 16 was meant ironically. “I have never made such a gesture to express sympathy for such a despicable ideology,” the youngest member of the cabinet defended himself.
Political future of Karkiainen uncertain
The picture was published by an online portal that is close to the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. The related article also claims that there were frequent celebrations in the former home of the consumer protection minister, at which right-wing “white power” music was played. Karkiainen does not want to deny that in principle: “I cannot take responsibility for the music other people have heard,” she said.
Other media, on the other hand, paint a friendlier picture of her. The “Svenska Dagbladet” reports in a report from Karkiainen’s hometown Haparanda in north-east Sweden. The people there are still full of praise for the former head girl and ambitious local politician. So she never had any sympathy for the Nazis.
And yet Ida Karkiainen’s political future remains uncertain. The newspaper “Aftonbladet” she said that the decision on whether to stay in office is in the hands of Prime Minister Andersson.
Sources:“Web.de”, “Aftonbladet”