8 ms·

Who killed Olof Palme?

85 points by ptype 7y ago

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
mongol 7y ago
Would be interesting to hear how "interesting" this article is for an international audience. As a Swede I am sick and tired about all speculation over the years. It is like a wound that never heals. We will never know for sure. Probably like the JFK assasination.
- jlangenauer 7y ago
  I read this yesterday, and found it fascinating - I’d like to think I have a reasonably good knowledge of world history, but I’d never even heard or it.
- cafard 7y ago
  In the US, one hears of this every now and then, perhaps on decade anniversaries.
- diggan 7y ago
  I hear you, I'm Swedish as well and been hearing people talking about this since my birth (if not earlier). However, seems they are getting closer at finding out. The article contains: > In February of this year, the latest lead investigator appeared on Swedish television and, with astonishing confidence, promised to give the public a solution within the next few years. Caution is advisable; this possibility has been teased many times before. But as mentioned, not the first time someone says that. Also, have not been living in Sweden for the last couple of years, so don't know more about the situation then outlined in the submission article. Edit: my vote goes to Christer Pettersson being who he said he was, would not surprise me. Pretty fun to read about the different theories as well, some are listed here (for the english readers) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme#Murder_theories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme#Mu...
  - retSava 7y ago
    > seems they are getting closer at finding out As they say every time. You wouldn't read about it otherwise (ie buy).
  - mongol 7y ago
    Yes, this possibility has been teased many times before. On top of my head - Arrest of "33-åringen" days after the murder - Gert Fylking's article about Christer Petterssons admission to him - Pelle Svensson about "bombmannens testamente"
- prolix 7y ago
  A couple of things seem obvious. Given the relative safety of the society the crime occurred within, the police were caught with their pants down, and were completely unprepared to deal with a major crime carried out according to a premeditated plan. After that, everything else is a natural mess. But, given version of the story as presented here Christer Pettersson seems like an idiot, just useful enough to have done it. Nonetheless, the crime was assuredly well planned, and used the absolute minimum violence at the right moment that permitted escape, so whoever did it planned to get away with it, planned it to kill, and planned the least amount of dramatic flair possible. Seems professional to me. Doesn't seem like the kind of thing to be done by a sloppy drunk with nothing to gain from it. Someone had something to gain, but we don't know what that was. Without the clear motive, an obvious goal, the thing that made it worth the effort, it's hard to see why anyone wanted him dead. Unfortunately, that's what makes the drunk such a good suspect, and such a lackluster reality. It feels like there should be more to it.
- IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
  I always enjoy these articles (to the extend that one can take joy in them), because they rarely fail to highlight how different politics can be. For an American audience, it's unthinkable that a leader of a government would go anywhere without their own private army. When I used to work in central Berlin, I regularly saw members of parliament and ministers have coffee or just walk around completely unprotected. Even Merkel could be seen with only modest security (usually two people), usually walking to/from her flat about a kilometre away from her office. It's a world where a stranger is not primarily a threat, possibly-armed, and where civility hasn't completely broken down. And it's not even that rare. Of course, the story itself kinda speaks against this view of the world.
  - rurban 7y ago
    I remember when I sat just behind José Manuel Barroso, that time the leader of the European Commission in a commercial airline, tourist class. I loved that guy, like the former Uruguayan president.
    - PTcartelsLOL 7y ago
      Good thing you like him. People in Portugal don't like him that much.
  - Sharlin 7y ago
    > Of course, the story itself kinda speaks against this view of the world. Yet these crimes are so rare as to be huge deals when they do occur, and politicians here generally rather take their chances than lead a life protected from their very constituents. In a high-trust society it is also expected from politicians.
    - dmix 7y ago
      It's much easier to have trust in a small unimposing culturally homogeneous country of 10 million like Sweden vs a 300+ million economic and geopolitical juggernaut.
- usr1106 7y ago
  > As a Swede I am sick and tired about all speculation over the years. I'm not a Swede, but I happened to be in Sweden as a trainee in Sweden just a year after it happened. For a couple of years I read every article I saw. But now that so much time has gone, I don't read any article any more. Not even this one, I was just curious what people comment. It is not unlikely that the murderer has died in the meantime. The same holds for anybody who might have (had) knowledge what exactly happened. The credibility of any new witnesses after so many years cannot be very high. If someone confesses and can offer unique proof/insider knowledge I will hear about whithout reading such articles. Or if credible documents are found in some secret service's archives that they were involved. But it's not anything likely enough to happen that I could still be interested.
  - mongol 7y ago
    You are right. It is actually more likely the murderer is dead than not. This is a simple observation because lots of people associated with the investigation are dead too. Simply beacause time has passed. Christer Pettersson is dead. Hans Holmér is dead. Lisbeth Palme is dead. 33-åringen is dead. Claes Zeime is dead. Axel Morath is dead. Lars Tingström is dead. Skandiamannen is dead. Ebbe Carlsson is dead. And so on, and so on..
    - usr1106 7y ago
      Oh, I had already completely forgotten about Ebbe Carlsson. The Swedish Wikipedia article was I nice refresh of my memory and now I understand again why I had read every article back in the days. Better than any fiction... (The English Wikipedia does not mention anythig of the dozens of scandals and weird affairs he was involved in.)
- professionalhit 7y ago
  It was assuredly not an angry drunk lashing out in a simple, poorly conceived, malign demonstration, for one simple reason: 2 shots, from a revolver. One serious wound, only killing the political leader. No one else was seriously injured. These details speak volumes. An ordinary idiot crossing the line, to commit murder, would have unloaded the entire gun, and probably would have scored a head shot, and probably would have killed the wife. A crime this big will only get bigger in the hands of a regular civilian that has no experience in killing people. Instead, we see a quick, quiet, deadly single shot to the torso. Two pulls to the trigger, and only a minor wound to the woman, probably accidental. The person that did it had help. The choice of a powerful revolver is significant. That they pounced in a quiet area with an escape route, and kept a few bullets to fend off any possible witness that might think about giving chase shows a depth of planning. The person that did it probably had an alibi and multiple conspirators.
- ggg2 7y ago
  for a foreigner, it shows how, if you can get the sympathy of the law enforcement grunts, you can get away with anything. investigator feels he have to pay too much tax while arresting people they deem unworthy of government benefits? go ahead and shoot your prime minister as the investigation will be sabotaged anyway.
saalweachter 7y ago
Eh, the JFK assassination is more people wanting a conspiracy over the boring explanations rather than an unsolved murder.
- coldtea 7y ago
  Or is it?
- JohnStrangeII 7y ago
  I wouldn't say so. The CIA and high ranking military officials certainly hated him and wanted him dead. There was a strong motive and there many inconsistencies in the way the case was handled afterwards. The majority of higher ranking CIA officials really considered JFK a traitor, because he didn't send air support at the bay of pigs (following through with what he had clearly stated all along). There were claims that he had been subverted by the Soviets, was deliberately sabotaging the country, etc. Personally, I remain agnostic but find it fairly credible that Oswald personally met a group of conspirators from the CIA a few days before the shooting and these people encouraged him to do what he did, maybe even made him some false promises about what would happen afterwards. It's also not unlikely that the killing of Oswald himself followed a similar pattern. That's all speculation, but overall reasonable speculation, because of the existing motives. Many conspiracy theories are weak, because they fail to lay out a credible motive. JFK is not one of those cases.
  - barking 7y ago
    But can a conspiracy of more than a very few people be kept under wraps for a lifetime? I find it hard to believe that if there really was a conspiracy that nothing concrete has emerged in all these years.
    - dfrage 7y ago
      When the penalty for revealing it would likely be execution for high treason?
    - gcb0 7y ago
kartan 7y ago
I pass by Adolf Fredrik Church, where he is buried, each day. It was sad to see two people guarding his tomb all day, even in the rain, in the day that commemorates his dead. I have also read a book about his assassination that I will recommend to skip and read about his ideas instead. It will be better to share his ideas than to focus on his death. I think that his world view is more needed now than ever.
- simlevesque 7y ago
  Do you have any source that lay out his ideas ?
  - njepa 7y ago
    This is probably your best bet. https://jacobinmag.com/search?query=olof+palme https://jacobinmag.com/search?query=olof+palme The documentary about the Swedish involvement in South Africa is also fascinating, but not specifically about Palme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4Ah8HCRcrQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4Ah8HCRcrQ
  - nxcho 7y ago
    I would eye through some of his speeches. A couple of english translations can be found here http://web.archive.org/web/20180524035711/http://www.olofpalme.org/en/documents-in-various-languages http://web.archive.org/web/20180524035711/http://www.olofpal...
fermigier 7y ago
"Les chefs des drapeaux rouges et les chefs des chemises noires ne vont qu'au pas cinglant de leurs bottes guerrières, le torse pris dans un corset de fer à l'épreuve de l'amour et des balles. Ils vont, tragiques et le flingue sur le cœur. Ils vont, métalliques et la peur au ventre, vers les palais blindés où s'ordonnent leurs lois de glace. Ils marchent droits sous leurs casquettes, leurs yeux durs sous verre fumé, cernés de vingt gorilles pare-chocs qui surveillent les toits pour repérer la mort. Mais la mort n'est pas pour les chefs des drapeaux rouges ni pour les chefs des chemises noires. La mort n'est pas aux fenêtres des rideaux de fer. Elle a trop peur. La mort est sur Stockholm. Elle signe, d'un trait rouge sur la neige blanche, son aveu d'impuissance à tuer la liberté des hommes qui vont au cinéma, tout seuls, bras dessus, bras dessous, avec la femme qu'ils aiment jusqu'à ce que mort s'ensuive." Pierre Desproges
gumby 7y ago
I am not Swedish, and had not yet visited Sweden at the time, and yet somehow Palme‘s murder was shocking and memorable to me. Perhaps it was that it was a blatant murder in a crowded public place, like something from James Bond. Or the murder of a major public figure, something that had seemingly gone out of fashion (I remember Lennon’s murder distinctly as well, but that was a loonie so somehow lacked the same significance to me). So odd, since I knew nothing of Swedish politics and honestly couldn’t care less (though I knew who he was, an internationally famous politician). So whenever his name surfaces I always check out the article. The 80s were weird, and seem weirder in retrospect.
mongol 7y ago
Something about Olof Palme himself. I don't think there has been any other politician in Sweden that have split the opinions in society like him. The left loved him. The right did not. I don't want to reach out for the word hate, because it is so often used today. He was certainly hated among some, yes. But more than that, he was despised probably by the majority among the minority that did not vote left. He left no one neutral. How come? A well known quote of his : "Jag tror efter de studier vi gjort är korrekt att säga att Arbetsgivareföreningens propagandister i mycket framstår som hatets och illviljans kolportörer mot svensk arbetarrörelse" Basically, this in very sofisticated words describes the Employer organisation's "propagandists" as agents of hate and ill-will against the labour movement. Quite an insult against political opponents. Today, we are perhaps used / more exposed to similar language in social media etc. But during this time, there was nothing like it. This should be understood against the backdrop of the politics of the time. Sweden was at the time significantly more socialist, very high income taxes, and the right probably felt that there were no limits how far social democratic politicians were prepared to go. Right or wrong, this was the sentiment among many. His language was often arrogant and in ways derogatory, but not similar to Trump's bombastic tone. In contrast, using much more elegant and precise prose. I am certain I will get replies that will defend his deeds and oppose how I describe him. Understand that just like society appeared during his reign - two sides who could not understand the other.
- mortb 7y ago
  I remember. I was in my early teens when he was murdered. I did not like his speaking style. It felt too elitist; distanciated / detached.
thatguyagain 7y ago
For all non swedes here, you should check out his speeches on youtube. He is known as a very well speaker.
mortb 7y ago
One of the theories about who shot him (there are many https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme) points to South Africa. There is also a theory that South Africans killed Dag Hammarskjöld, the Swedish UN leader https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/20/south-africa-weird-sinister-apartheid-mercenary-saimr-keith-maxwell https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/20/south-africa-w...
- jeezie 7y ago
  This is probably the best bet. It follows that they had an axe to grind, a message to send, and something to lose if they ignored their situation and did nothing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIMR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIMR Sounds like nasty business with some truly ruthless characters, seriously motivated to interfere in the politics of other countries.
kleton 7y ago
The Mossad. Palme was a good friend of Palestine.
bjourne 7y ago
The murder of OP isn't that interesting. Everyone who is knowledgeable about the case knows it can't have been a conspiracy. It was a lone gunman, possibly a drug addict, seeing OP and his wife, seizing the opportunity to kill him. But what is interesting is the completely disastrous following investigation. The police in Stockholm fucked up in every possible way there is to fuck up. Records were not kept, witnesses were promised rewards for testifying, they didn't investigate the crime scene properly, chased after wild conspiracy theories about South Africa and PKK and so on. Eventually they brought in experts from the FBI, but then it was already too late because it is much harder to solve a murder three years after the fact than one month after. The only reason the murderer went free is the insane incompetence displayed.
- walkingolof 7y ago
  The disaster IMO was what the act itself led to, it took something away from all of us. I want to live in a country where the PM walks home by himself at the end of the day, lives in a ordinary place and takes out the garbage after dinner. I loved that with our country, I was at a concert last summer where the current PM showed up, this was a very small concert in the northern part of the country, with an entourage of SÄPO guards that only could qualify as a small private army.
  - njepa 7y ago
    Security got a lot more plentiful after Anna Lindh and Utøya. (And of course the whole war on terror). These things can't happen too often and stay the same, unfortunately.
    - aivisol 7y ago
      Alas, the world we live in is far from perfect. Si vis pacem, para bellum - the Romans knew it and I believe it is still very true.
  - hollibpmpa 7y ago
    I ran in to our previous PM in the Systembolaget at NK-huset a couple years ago, with 2x SÄPO:s. It was odd to see. He bought like 8 of those Stockholm 5,2.
egl2019 7y ago
Bring Martin Beck out of retirement.
- hollibpmpa 7y ago
  I thought it was Gunvald who left??

85 points by ptype 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Would be interesting to hear how "interesting" this article is for an international audience. As a Swede I am sick and tired about all speculation over the years. It is like a wound that never heals. We will never know for sure. Probably like the JFK assasination.

jlangenauer 7y ago
I read this yesterday, and found it fascinating - I’d like to think I have a reasonably good knowledge of world history, but I’d never even heard or it.
cafard 7y ago
In the US, one hears of this every now and then, perhaps on decade anniversaries.
diggan 7y ago
I hear you, I'm Swedish as well and been hearing people talking about this since my birth (if not earlier). However, seems they are getting closer at finding out. The article contains: > In February of this year, the latest lead investigator appeared on Swedish television and, with astonishing confidence, promised to give the public a solution within the next few years. Caution is advisable; this possibility has been teased many times before. But as mentioned, not the first time someone says that. Also, have not been living in Sweden for the last couple of years, so don't know more about the situation then outlined in the submission article. Edit: my vote goes to Christer Pettersson being who he said he was, would not surprise me. Pretty fun to read about the different theories as well, some are listed here (for the english readers) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme#Murder_theories https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme#Mu...
- retSava 7y ago
  > seems they are getting closer at finding out As they say every time. You wouldn't read about it otherwise (ie buy).
- mongol 7y ago
  Yes, this possibility has been teased many times before. On top of my head - Arrest of "33-åringen" days after the murder - Gert Fylking's article about Christer Petterssons admission to him - Pelle Svensson about "bombmannens testamente"
prolix 7y ago
A couple of things seem obvious. Given the relative safety of the society the crime occurred within, the police were caught with their pants down, and were completely unprepared to deal with a major crime carried out according to a premeditated plan. After that, everything else is a natural mess. But, given version of the story as presented here Christer Pettersson seems like an idiot, just useful enough to have done it. Nonetheless, the crime was assuredly well planned, and used the absolute minimum violence at the right moment that permitted escape, so whoever did it planned to get away with it, planned it to kill, and planned the least amount of dramatic flair possible. Seems professional to me. Doesn't seem like the kind of thing to be done by a sloppy drunk with nothing to gain from it. Someone had something to gain, but we don't know what that was. Without the clear motive, an obvious goal, the thing that made it worth the effort, it's hard to see why anyone wanted him dead. Unfortunately, that's what makes the drunk such a good suspect, and such a lackluster reality. It feels like there should be more to it.
IfOnlyYouKnew 7y ago
I always enjoy these articles (to the extend that one can take joy in them), because they rarely fail to highlight how different politics can be. For an American audience, it's unthinkable that a leader of a government would go anywhere without their own private army. When I used to work in central Berlin, I regularly saw members of parliament and ministers have coffee or just walk around completely unprotected. Even Merkel could be seen with only modest security (usually two people), usually walking to/from her flat about a kilometre away from her office. It's a world where a stranger is not primarily a threat, possibly-armed, and where civility hasn't completely broken down. And it's not even that rare. Of course, the story itself kinda speaks against this view of the world.
- rurban 7y ago
  I remember when I sat just behind José Manuel Barroso, that time the leader of the European Commission in a commercial airline, tourist class. I loved that guy, like the former Uruguayan president.
  - PTcartelsLOL 7y ago
    Good thing you like him. People in Portugal don't like him that much.
- Sharlin 7y ago
  > Of course, the story itself kinda speaks against this view of the world. Yet these crimes are so rare as to be huge deals when they do occur, and politicians here generally rather take their chances than lead a life protected from their very constituents. In a high-trust society it is also expected from politicians.
  - dmix 7y ago
    It's much easier to have trust in a small unimposing culturally homogeneous country of 10 million like Sweden vs a 300+ million economic and geopolitical juggernaut.
usr1106 7y ago
> As a Swede I am sick and tired about all speculation over the years. I'm not a Swede, but I happened to be in Sweden as a trainee in Sweden just a year after it happened. For a couple of years I read every article I saw. But now that so much time has gone, I don't read any article any more. Not even this one, I was just curious what people comment. It is not unlikely that the murderer has died in the meantime. The same holds for anybody who might have (had) knowledge what exactly happened. The credibility of any new witnesses after so many years cannot be very high. If someone confesses and can offer unique proof/insider knowledge I will hear about whithout reading such articles. Or if credible documents are found in some secret service's archives that they were involved. But it's not anything likely enough to happen that I could still be interested.
- mongol 7y ago
  You are right. It is actually more likely the murderer is dead than not. This is a simple observation because lots of people associated with the investigation are dead too. Simply beacause time has passed. Christer Pettersson is dead. Hans Holmér is dead. Lisbeth Palme is dead. 33-åringen is dead. Claes Zeime is dead. Axel Morath is dead. Lars Tingström is dead. Skandiamannen is dead. Ebbe Carlsson is dead. And so on, and so on..
  - usr1106 7y ago
    Oh, I had already completely forgotten about Ebbe Carlsson. The Swedish Wikipedia article was I nice refresh of my memory and now I understand again why I had read every article back in the days. Better than any fiction... (The English Wikipedia does not mention anythig of the dozens of scandals and weird affairs he was involved in.)
professionalhit 7y ago
It was assuredly not an angry drunk lashing out in a simple, poorly conceived, malign demonstration, for one simple reason: 2 shots, from a revolver. One serious wound, only killing the political leader. No one else was seriously injured. These details speak volumes. An ordinary idiot crossing the line, to commit murder, would have unloaded the entire gun, and probably would have scored a head shot, and probably would have killed the wife. A crime this big will only get bigger in the hands of a regular civilian that has no experience in killing people. Instead, we see a quick, quiet, deadly single shot to the torso. Two pulls to the trigger, and only a minor wound to the woman, probably accidental. The person that did it had help. The choice of a powerful revolver is significant. That they pounced in a quiet area with an escape route, and kept a few bullets to fend off any possible witness that might think about giving chase shows a depth of planning. The person that did it probably had an alibi and multiple conspirators.
ggg2 7y ago
for a foreigner, it shows how, if you can get the sympathy of the law enforcement grunts, you can get away with anything. investigator feels he have to pay too much tax while arresting people they deem unworthy of government benefits? go ahead and shoot your prime minister as the investigation will be sabotaged anyway.

saalweachter 7y ago

Eh, the JFK assassination is more people wanting a conspiracy over the boring explanations rather than an unsolved murder.

coldtea 7y ago
Or is it?
JohnStrangeII 7y ago
I wouldn't say so. The CIA and high ranking military officials certainly hated him and wanted him dead. There was a strong motive and there many inconsistencies in the way the case was handled afterwards. The majority of higher ranking CIA officials really considered JFK a traitor, because he didn't send air support at the bay of pigs (following through with what he had clearly stated all along). There were claims that he had been subverted by the Soviets, was deliberately sabotaging the country, etc. Personally, I remain agnostic but find it fairly credible that Oswald personally met a group of conspirators from the CIA a few days before the shooting and these people encouraged him to do what he did, maybe even made him some false promises about what would happen afterwards. It's also not unlikely that the killing of Oswald himself followed a similar pattern. That's all speculation, but overall reasonable speculation, because of the existing motives. Many conspiracy theories are weak, because they fail to lay out a credible motive. JFK is not one of those cases.
- barking 7y ago
  But can a conspiracy of more than a very few people be kept under wraps for a lifetime? I find it hard to believe that if there really was a conspiracy that nothing concrete has emerged in all these years.
  - dfrage 7y ago
    When the penalty for revealing it would likely be execution for high treason?
  - gcb0 7y ago

kartan 7y ago

I pass by Adolf Fredrik Church, where he is buried, each day. It was sad to see two people guarding his tomb all day, even in the rain, in the day that commemorates his dead. I have also read a book about his assassination that I will recommend to skip and read about his ideas instead. It will be better to share his ideas than to focus on his death. I think that his world view is more needed now than ever.

simlevesque 7y ago
Do you have any source that lay out his ideas ?
- njepa 7y ago
  This is probably your best bet. https://jacobinmag.com/search?query=olof+palme https://jacobinmag.com/search?query=olof+palme The documentary about the Swedish involvement in South Africa is also fascinating, but not specifically about Palme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4Ah8HCRcrQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4Ah8HCRcrQ
- nxcho 7y ago
  I would eye through some of his speeches. A couple of english translations can be found here http://web.archive.org/web/20180524035711/http://www.olofpalme.org/en/documents-in-various-languages http://web.archive.org/web/20180524035711/http://www.olofpal...

fermigier 7y ago

"Les chefs des drapeaux rouges et les chefs des chemises noires ne vont qu'au pas cinglant de leurs bottes guerrières, le torse pris dans un corset de fer à l'épreuve de l'amour et des balles. Ils vont, tragiques et le flingue sur le cœur. Ils vont, métalliques et la peur au ventre, vers les palais blindés où s'ordonnent leurs lois de glace. Ils marchent droits sous leurs casquettes, leurs yeux durs sous verre fumé, cernés de vingt gorilles pare-chocs qui surveillent les toits pour repérer la mort. Mais la mort n'est pas pour les chefs des drapeaux rouges ni pour les chefs des chemises noires. La mort n'est pas aux fenêtres des rideaux de fer. Elle a trop peur. La mort est sur Stockholm. Elle signe, d'un trait rouge sur la neige blanche, son aveu d'impuissance à tuer la liberté des hommes qui vont au cinéma, tout seuls, bras dessus, bras dessous, avec la femme qu'ils aiment jusqu'à ce que mort s'ensuive." Pierre Desproges

gumby 7y ago

I am not Swedish, and had not yet visited Sweden at the time, and yet somehow Palme‘s murder was shocking and memorable to me. Perhaps it was that it was a blatant murder in a crowded public place, like something from James Bond. Or the murder of a major public figure, something that had seemingly gone out of fashion (I remember Lennon’s murder distinctly as well, but that was a loonie so somehow lacked the same significance to me). So odd, since I knew nothing of Swedish politics and honestly couldn’t care less (though I knew who he was, an internationally famous politician). So whenever his name surfaces I always check out the article. The 80s were weird, and seem weirder in retrospect.

mongol 7y ago

Something about Olof Palme himself. I don't think there has been any other politician in Sweden that have split the opinions in society like him. The left loved him. The right did not. I don't want to reach out for the word hate, because it is so often used today. He was certainly hated among some, yes. But more than that, he was despised probably by the majority among the minority that did not vote left. He left no one neutral. How come? A well known quote of his : "Jag tror efter de studier vi gjort är korrekt att säga att Arbetsgivareföreningens propagandister i mycket framstår som hatets och illviljans kolportörer mot svensk arbetarrörelse" Basically, this in very sofisticated words describes the Employer organisation's "propagandists" as agents of hate and ill-will against the labour movement. Quite an insult against political opponents. Today, we are perhaps used / more exposed to similar language in social media etc. But during this time, there was nothing like it. This should be understood against the backdrop of the politics of the time. Sweden was at the time significantly more socialist, very high income taxes, and the right probably felt that there were no limits how far social democratic politicians were prepared to go. Right or wrong, this was the sentiment among many. His language was often arrogant and in ways derogatory, but not similar to Trump's bombastic tone. In contrast, using much more elegant and precise prose. I am certain I will get replies that will defend his deeds and oppose how I describe him. Understand that just like society appeared during his reign - two sides who could not understand the other.

mortb 7y ago
I remember. I was in my early teens when he was murdered. I did not like his speaking style. It felt too elitist; distanciated / detached.

thatguyagain 7y ago

For all non swedes here, you should check out his speeches on youtube. He is known as a very well speaker.

mortb 7y ago

One of the theories about who shot him (there are many https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Olof_Palme) points to South Africa. There is also a theory that South Africans killed Dag Hammarskjöld, the Swedish UN leader https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/20/south-africa-weird-sinister-apartheid-mercenary-saimr-keith-maxwell https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/20/south-africa-w...

jeezie 7y ago
This is probably the best bet. It follows that they had an axe to grind, a message to send, and something to lose if they ignored their situation and did nothing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIMR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAIMR Sounds like nasty business with some truly ruthless characters, seriously motivated to interfere in the politics of other countries.

kleton 7y ago

The Mossad. Palme was a good friend of Palestine.

bjourne 7y ago

The murder of OP isn't that interesting. Everyone who is knowledgeable about the case knows it can't have been a conspiracy. It was a lone gunman, possibly a drug addict, seeing OP and his wife, seizing the opportunity to kill him. But what is interesting is the completely disastrous following investigation. The police in Stockholm fucked up in every possible way there is to fuck up. Records were not kept, witnesses were promised rewards for testifying, they didn't investigate the crime scene properly, chased after wild conspiracy theories about South Africa and PKK and so on. Eventually they brought in experts from the FBI, but then it was already too late because it is much harder to solve a murder three years after the fact than one month after. The only reason the murderer went free is the insane incompetence displayed.

walkingolof 7y ago
The disaster IMO was what the act itself led to, it took something away from all of us. I want to live in a country where the PM walks home by himself at the end of the day, lives in a ordinary place and takes out the garbage after dinner. I loved that with our country, I was at a concert last summer where the current PM showed up, this was a very small concert in the northern part of the country, with an entourage of SÄPO guards that only could qualify as a small private army.
- njepa 7y ago
  Security got a lot more plentiful after Anna Lindh and Utøya. (And of course the whole war on terror). These things can't happen too often and stay the same, unfortunately.
  - aivisol 7y ago
    Alas, the world we live in is far from perfect. Si vis pacem, para bellum - the Romans knew it and I believe it is still very true.
- hollibpmpa 7y ago
  I ran in to our previous PM in the Systembolaget at NK-huset a couple years ago, with 2x SÄPO:s. It was odd to see. He bought like 8 of those Stockholm 5,2.

egl2019 7y ago

Bring Martin Beck out of retirement.

hollibpmpa 7y ago
I thought it was Gunvald who left??