Swedish Christian Democrat resigns after sexual assault scandal

He had only been a prominent figure in the Christian Democratic Party for six months. Now he has left because his colleague Sara Skyttedal accused him of sexually assaulting her at a party event in 2014, Vart Land reports. Ingerö announced his resignation in a Facebook post in which he acknowledges that he had an alcohol problem at the time but denies that he sexually assaulted Skyttedal. "Of course, I should not have attended this party, especially because I was the press manager of the party. The reason I went was that I was addicted to alcohol nine years ago", Ingerö writes in the post. "I don't feel sorry for myself, but I write this because I realise that my past can be used against me. At the same time, I have never been guilty of what I am now accused of", he adds.

Earlier, Sara Skyttedal had written on Facebook that she had chosen to report a party colleague to the police because of sexual assault. "Eight years ago, a party colleague chose, against my will, to claim the right to my body. During all these years, I have been silent", she states, as reported by Dagen. According to Skyttedal, a new event is the reason why she reports the incident now.

However, the police have now closed the investigation. It will have no legal consequences for Ingerö because the alleged assault happened too long ago, Dagen reports.

Culture

Yet, the scandal has caused much upheaval and debate around the Christian Democratic Party of Sweden. “It testifies of a party culture on the slide”, the Swede Per Ewert writes in a comment in Varlden Idag. "No party, least of all a Christian Democratic party, should have such a deficient alcohol culture that leading politicians put themselves in a situation like this", he argues. According to Ewert, it gives "an almost childish rebellious impression when party representatives make it a virtue to be happy to break free church norms in the area" when their program of principles reads that "public representation must have restraint with alcohol."

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Glass of wine

Alcohol parties like the one Skyttedal and Ingerö write about are not representative of the party, says Tuve Skånberg, former senior president of the Riksdag and one of the "party's veterans", as Dagen calls him. He points out that he never saw someone drunk at party events, except for some isolated cases about 15 years ago. "The drinking that has occurred and that I can see, such as at the Parliament, has been very restrictive. It is about a glass of wine."

Yet, he acknowledges that there are some internal parties where people drink more alcohol. "The culture that now stands at the door is unknown to me. I hope this is about a single occasion in a tiny circle because I would be worried if this kind of culture were widespread."