Eight days before Sweden's September 13 election, a security question splits even the governing coalition
Gustav Gellerbrant helped write the Tidö coalition agreement, and now heads the Sweden Democrats' coordination office inside the Government Offices. An Expo investigation found that his Russian-born partner shared pro-Kremlin content online in 2015-2017, and again in 2024 and 2025. He underwent a new security check once Expo contacted him, and no security authority has since asked for further steps. Nobody disputes any of that. What splits Sweden's leaders, eight days before the September 13 vote, is whether it adds up to a live security risk or a closed matter.
Where they agree
None of the five contests that Gellerbrant's partner shared pro-Kremlin content, or that he was re-vetted once Expo raised it. But only Åkesson addresses what the re-vetting found; Knutson and Kristersson both frame their own positions as conditional, on Expo's account holding up.
Where they split
The four politicians split on what to do next, not on the facts. Åkesson sees no need for further steps. Kristersson wants Gellerbrant dismissed if the claims hold up. Hultqvist wants Kristersson questioned before parliament's defence committee and a formal inquiry into how the case was handled. Carvalho wants Kristersson to say whether his own office knew of the relationship before Expo published.
What nobody is saying
No security authority has said, in public, whether the new vetting covered the 2024 and 2025 posts or only the ones from 2015-2017 that first drew Expo's attention.
Åkesson says Gellerbrant was vetted before taking the post and underwent a new check once Expo's questions came in, and that since no authority has asked for further steps, he sees no reason for alarm.
”Det verkar inte finnas något sådant behov.”There doesn't seem to be any such need.
Knutson argues the facts alone make Gellerbrant's post inside the Government Offices vulnerable, given how aggressively Russia is acting.
”Om uppgifterna stämmer, är hans relation till kvinnan känslig. Hans centrala befattning i Regeringskansliet är sårbar, inte minst med tanke på Rysslands aggressiva agerande.”If the information is accurate, his relationship with the woman is sensitive. His central position in the Government Offices is vulnerable, not least given Russia's aggressive conduct.
Kristersson told Aftonbladet that Gellerbrant should be dismissed if Expo's account holds up, and that there is no room in Sweden for people spreading pro-Russian narratives while working in parliament. That is a harder line than Åkesson's.
”Vi befinner oss i ett europeisk krig. Det här är allvarliga saker. Man kan ju inte ha människor som sitter och sprider proryska narrativ och arbetar i Sveriges riksdag.”We are in a European war. These are serious matters. You cannot have people spreading pro-Russian narratives while working in Sweden's parliament.
Hultqvist calls it a security crisis reaching into the Prime Minister's Office itself, not only the wider Government Offices, and wants Kristersson questioned before parliament's defence committee.
”Allting måste upp på bordet. Det handlar om en säkerhetskris. Den riktar sig rätt in i statsrådsberedningen, det vill säga statsministerns egna kansli.”Everything must be put on the table. This is a security crisis, and it reaches right into the Prime Minister's Office, that is, the Prime Minister's own department.
Carvalho wants Kristersson to say publicly whether his own office knew of the relationship before Expo's report went public.
”Det här är i värsta fall ett allvarligt infiltrationsförsök från främmande makt in i maktens centrum.”In the worst case, this is a serious infiltration attempt by a foreign power right into the centre of power.