Posts Tagged ‘Åsa Romson’

Swedish Greens make Åsa Romson the scapegoat for Gustav Fridolin’s incompetence

May 9, 2016

Breaking:

The feminist credentials of the Swedish Greens are going to take a real hit. The recent fiasco with radical islamists infiltrating the Greens is – to a large extent – the result of the incompetence of their male, co-leader, Gustav Fridolin. The Greens nominating committee (the same incompetent committee which proposed a radical islamist for a Steering Committee post) has just proposed that their female, co-leader Åsa Romson be replaced by Isabella Lovin.

It seems Åsa Romson, who has not distinguished herself, but who was not really responsible for the islamic fiasco, is to be the scapegoat and take the blame for Fridolin who, they propose, should remain. Certainly Fridolin’s popularity was low but Romson’s was even lower. The Greens have their conference at the end of the week. But there are few male contenders for the co-leader post to challenge Fridolin. Perhaps it is the lack of competent males which allows Fridolin to remain.

So it looks like Fridolin will escape the consequences of his incompetence. He has been pretty ineffective as Education Minister as well. But the Greens (or at least their nominating committee) seem to be rather sexist in the way in which they are protecting and favouring Fridolin.

The Greens nominating committee has little courage and their competence is already in question. But Fridolin should not be in government.

 

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Politics, Sweden | Comments Off on Swedish Greens make Åsa Romson the scapegoat for Gustav Fridolin’s incompetence

Swedish Green Party leader more concerned about the effect on Muslims after 9/11 “accidents”

April 19, 2016

The Swedish Green Party is living in some fantasy dream world of its own. The 9/11 atrocities were merely “accidents” and their concern is more for Muslim communities who felt the backlash after the attack than for the 3,000 victims of the Islamic terror attacks.

"An accident" according to Åsa Romson

“An accident” according to Åsa Romson

Their leader, Åsa Romson, euphemistically called a “spokesperson” (in Swedish literally a “mouthpiece”!), was on TV this morning defending her party member Mehmet Kaplan who resigned yesterday as Housing Minister. He resigned (actually was fired) because it was revealed that he was in the habit of hobnobbing with Islamic extremists and neo-fascists and for his rather stupid comparisons of Israelis to Nazis. Åsa Romson, this morning, was still in admiration of his “values” and then revealed her own mind-set when she applauded him for helping the Muslim community during the backlash after the “9/11 accidents”.

It was almost unbelievable that she could so nonchalantly dismiss the almost 3,000 people who were murdered by islamic terrorists (Al Qaida) on that day as being the victims of an accident. She later defended her ridiculous statement by saying that she was focusing on the travails of the Muslim community and their isolation and on the difficulties of integration.

In her warped and twisted world, it seems the backlash against Muslim communities was more important than the terrorist atrocity that claimed  3,000 victims and the effects on their families. That Muslim communities (not all but many) celebrated the 9/11 atrocities was of little concern.

She also has the dubious distinction of claiming that the plight of refugees to Europe was to be compared to Auschwitz (but she actually thought that Auschwitz was somewhere in southern Germany). Even for a Green politician – who all lack common sense – she is/was remarkably uninformed, callous and insensitive. The terrorists and extremists can never be challenged with the Åsa Romsons of this world sitting in government.

Stefan Löfven and the ruling Social Democrats in Sweden do not have the courage to dump the Greens from the coalition government – though many would like them to. Unfortunately the Moderate Party in opposition does not either have the courage to do what they are supposed to  – oppose.

And so we are left with the Greens continuing in government while inhabiting their own rose-coloured, fantasy world. And Sweden’s reputation for being a place where extremists and terrorists are not jut tolerated, but actively protected by politicians in government, grows. Åsa Romson is Deputy Prime Minister and her stupidities cannot be construed as anything but being a representation of the Government’s views.

Her position is untenable. She really does have to go.

 

Tags:, ,
Posted in Behaviour, Politics, Sweden | Comments Off on Swedish Green Party leader more concerned about the effect on Muslims after 9/11 “accidents”

Åsa Romson and “the tears of a Green”

November 26, 2015

Åsa Romson’s “tears” for taking the decisions she took have received much attention. But it is not about the decisions this post is concerned with. It is about the behaviour of a politician who wishes to escape responsibility when making unprincipled decisions. It is about crying for a credit where none is due.

The Independent: Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister broke down into tears as she announced the Government’s U-turn over the refugee crisis to reduce the number of people fleeing war and persecution from seeking asylum in Sweden. ……

“In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been convinced that this is the best way to help the local green party politicians actually do something,” she went on, before bursting into tears.

I note today that she gets some sympathy for taking a decision which goes stick and stone against what the Green party is supposed to stand for. As if the tears wash away her responsibility for her own decisions. As if the tears somehow mean that her principles are uncompromised or excuse her remaining in government. Doing something “wrong” by her own standards and then crying about it does not make it any the less wrong or alter the fact that she took the “wrong” decision.

It is a trick that politicians should remember and bring out whenever they need to take an unprincipled decision but avoid the consequences. A few tears can then absolve them of any feelings of guilt for violating their own principles. It is having the meal and bursting into tears when the bill is presented.

I am reminded of “Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson.

Well ther’e some sad things known to man

But ain’t too much sadder than

The tears of a Green

who, to pay the bill, is not too keen

with apologies to Smokey Robinson

Tags:,
Posted in Sweden, Trivia | Comments Off on Åsa Romson and “the tears of a Green”

Swedish Greens abandon their principles just to remain in government

November 25, 2015

In the face of the massive stream of asylum seekers, the decisions by the Swedish government to now only offer temporary residence permits, to insist on identity checks at the borders and to return those without identification to the EU country they are coming from (Denmark and Germany in the main), are only just common sense. But even these common sense actions have long been considered much too tough by the Greens and the far left. But when the Social Democrat led government announced its decision today, their Green party partners stood by their side. They abandoned their previous principles, and did not leave the government or the position in the limelight they so desperately crave. They put forward the flawed argument that they are remaining in government because without them there it would be even worse for the refugees.

But – in my opinion – the only reason they did not do the right thing and leave the government is that their leader Åsa Romson and her other Green party ministers, have been so seduced by the trappings of power that they cannot give them up. Goodness gracious! They couldn’t possibly not be at the Paris Climate Conference now, could they?

The Guardian: Sweden needs “respite” from the tens of thousands of refugees knocking at its door, the government has said, announcing tough measures to deter asylum seekers in a sharp reversal of its open-door policy towards people fleeing war and persecution.

The country’s generous asylum regime would revert to the “EU minimum”, Sweden’s prime minister, Stefan Löfven, said on Tuesday, revealing that most refugees would receive only temporary residence permits from April. Identity checks would be imposed on all modes of transport, and the right to bring families to Sweden would be severely restricted, he said. ……

The reversal in refugee policy, which follows the imposition of border controls two weeks ago, marks a policy choice the ruling red-green coalition would have considered unthinkable until asylum seekers began arriving this autumn at a rate of 10,000 a week. Official estimates suggest up to 190,000 could come to the country of 10 million people this year.

The rise in refugee numbers has caused a frantic scramble to place roofs over their heads. At the weekend refugees arriving in the southern city of Malmö were forced to sleep on the streets because no beds could be found. …….. 

The Greens’ deputy prime minister, Åsa Romson, broke into tears as she announced the measures.“This is a terrible decision,” she said later, admitting that the proposals would make life even more precarious for refugees. But quitting the government would have made a bad situation even worse, she added.

Crocodile tears.

And yet Åsa Romson, while claiming that the Greens had reached their limits,  would not commit to leaving the government if even stricter measures were introduced.

Dagens Nyheter:

…. But now the limit has been reached for the Green Party. Åsa Romson said to DN that there is no question of the Green Party going along with the Moderate party’s proposals in practice to close the border to refugees.

“For the Green Party’s part, I see no room whatsoever today to take further steps in terms of a restrictive asylum policy”.

DN; Would you leave the government in such a case?

“I did not say so”.

DN: But how else should we interpret it?

“I said I did not see any opportunities for my party to make any further deterioration. Now we have gone down to the minimum level required by international law and EU law. To go beyond means not even meeting international asylum law. There is of course an upper limit that is not possible to go over”.

I don’t expect much logic or rational thinking from the Swedish Green party. But the lack of rational thinking here is particularly obvious.

In any event the decisions taken today are quite rational and necessary – even if they don’t quite go far enough. The reality is that something between 60 and 80% of those arriving at Sweden’s borders destroy their own ID documents so as to be eligible for being considered for asylum. A normal immigrant has no right to state support but an asylum seeker does. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but in the present wave of “refugees” the rules are being manipulated by some.

But the Green party has demonstrated quite clearly today that they are opportunistic, have very flexible principles (and values), and like being in power.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Politics, Sweden | Comments Off on Swedish Greens abandon their principles just to remain in government

A Deputy PM who isn’t (if you are in Sweden and the deputy is a “green”)

July 19, 2015

The Swedish Social Democrats were forced to bring the Environmental Party into government to cobble together a majority in parliament with external support from the Left Party (rebranded communists). The leader of the Greens, Åsa Romson, was given the title of “Deputy Prime Minister” but it has now been revealed that in the agreement between the Social Democrats and the Greens, the position was entirely titular. Fortunately the Social Democrats were sane enough and responsible enough not to allow the possibility of a Green Deputy PM actually stepping in to replace the PM when he was abroad or ill. That would be more frightening than nuclear weapons with a rogue state.

This agreement came to light this week when the PM, Stefan Löfven, was taken ill – just for a few hours – on his return from a trip abroad. Though he has not named any particular person to fill his empty shoes, it is usually the Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström, also a Social Democrat, who steps in.

Opposition parties have been quick to take pot-shots. “Unconstitutional”, said some of them, “to have a deputy who wasn’t”.

All good fun, but there is a serious point. The Greens are not seen, even by their partners in government, as being responsible enough to be allowed to take the reins. And that is the reality. The 6 Green Party Ministers in this government have, in my perception, amply demonstrated their inexperience which borders on the incompetent. They are a destructive force, primarily concerned with stopping actions from others,  but have few constructive ideas of their own. They raise barriers when others want to “do” but “do” very little themselves.

Dagens Nyheter: The Green Party spokesperson Åsa Romson’s is Deputy Prime Minister – but will still not act as replacement for Stefan Löfven (S). Instead, it is Margot Wallström, who has that role in government.

According to information provided to DN the Social Democrat leaders did  not want to give Romson the responsibility to lead the country in a crisis.

“Stefan Löfven has not appointed a deputy. Since no specific proxy has been appointed the role is taken by the longest serving Minister” says Hans Dahlgren (S), State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.

In the red-green government, Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström is the longest serving minister. Therefore she has, whenever available, led most of the cabinet meetings that have taken place since last autumn whenever Stefan Löfven has been abroad or absent for other reasons.

…….. when the Social Democrats and the Green Party negotiated for government posts last autumn, the parties agreed that Åsa Romsons title as Deputy Prime Minister was merely titular.

“We made no demands about getting an operational deputy post when we negotiated to enter government. It was more important for us to have clear responsibilities and cooperation in government”, says Åsa Romson.

The issue came to a head on Thursday when Stefan Löfven after a trip to Ethiopia suffered acute nausea and was taken by ambulance from the airport to the Karolinska University Hospital. But it took more than a day for the Prime Minister to answer DN’s questions on the matter.

The Green Party is based on agitation when in opposition. In government they flop about like fish on dry land.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Behaviour, Politics, Sweden | Comments Off on A Deputy PM who isn’t (if you are in Sweden and the deputy is a “green”)

Swedish Green party leader exhibits her immaturity to be in government

May 11, 2015

Green party “co-spokesperson” (a euphemism for “leader”) Åsa Romson has once again demonstrated that the greens have great difficulty in making the transition from being demonstrators on the streets to actually being in government. Åsa Romson is even the Deputy Prime Minister. She has been silly enough to first compare the Mediterranean to Auschwitz and then to refer to the Roma as “zigenare” which means gypsy and as a term has officially been declared to be “offensive”.

Of course she wasn’t around during the Holocaust, but who does she see as the Nazis of today? The Mediterranean may well be a graveyard for many but the reference displays an amazing ignorance.

TheLocal: Green party co-spokesperson Åsa Romson has apologized after calling Roma people “zigenare” (gypsies) as well as comparing the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean to the Holocaust. ……. 

The leader later told SVT that she was sorry, adding that she had used an expression that “did not fit”, while trying to make a strong argument about the migrant crisis in the EU.

Her press spokesperson Hellström Gefvert later told the broadcaster that Romson had been “tired” after the debate and knew that her choice of words was “indefensible”.

On Monday, Romson issued another apology on Twitter, posting: “Again: It was wrong to make an Auschwitz analogy. I sincerely apologize”.

But this is not the first time that the greens have demonstrated their lack of judgement. They show little evidence of exercise of mind. The Swedish Greens border on being anti-semitic. They are definitely pro-Palestine, even have mild islamists in positions of power and are generally anti-Israel. It is sometimes difficult to tread the balance between being anti-Israel and being anti-semitic and, unfortunately, the Swedish Greens just don’t have the judgement and quality of thought necessary to walk the line. Mehmet Kaplan and Gustav Fridolin are Green party members and Ministers in the current Red/Green government. Kaplan was also unthinking enough to equate Swedes joining IS with Finns fighting against Russians during WW2. Also a remarkable display of ignorance of history and an apologist remark – in any interpretation – for the IS.

TimesofIsrael: Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan, of Sweden’s Green Party, was arrested in 2010 by Israeli forces after participating in the Mavi Marmara flotilla, which was headed to the Gaza Strip. The Turkish-born MP was later deported from Israel over his involvement. 

During this summer’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, Kaplan called for the “liberation of Jerusalem” at a pro-Palestinian rally.

He also downplayed the evils of the Islamic State in a July address, saying that Swedes joining their ranks in Iraq and Syria were similar to those who went to Finland during World War II to combat the Soviet Union. His comparison was lambasted by many Swedes, who consider the soldiers who volunteered to fight the Soviets on behalf of Finland freedom fighters.

In addition, Sweden’s Education Minister Gustav Fridolin was detained by Israeli forces in 2004 for protesting the security barrier near Ramallah. Fridolin left the country shortly after he was released.

The thoughtlessness is evident even in environmental issues which ought to be their strength – but is not. In fact even on many environmental matters they tend to be remarkably uninformed and blindly follow an eco-fascist line. They know best what everybody else should do – for their own good.

Greens in government just don’t work and in Sweden they are an embarrassment to rational thought.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Politics, Sweden | Comments Off on Swedish Green party leader exhibits her immaturity to be in government

%d bloggers like this: