Ellen Juntti was the only Moderate MP who dared to go against Ulf Kristersson’s line and vote no to the heavily criticized “gender identity law” that we previously reported on and which, among other things, means that minors can now “swap” legal gender.
For this, Juntti is now being punished by the party and will lose her committee seat, but she says she has no regrets and that “sometimes you have to make decisions even when you realize that it has negative consequences”.
Juntti was one of the few Moderate voices to openly criticize the party leadership’s line and the only one in the party to vote against the law that party leader Ulf Kristersson had been a driving force in getting through. Shortly after the vote, it was clear that she would be punished for defying Kristersson’s line, and now it is also clear that she will lose her seat on the Civil Affairs Committee.
“Violating the parliamentary group’s rules of procedure and going against the common political stance can have consequences, which it has now had for the member in question”, writes Mattias Karlsson, group leader of the Moderates in Parliament in a comment to Bonnier-owned DN.
“It is thus not a matter of a divergent opinion on the matter, but that the member did not follow the common rules of the parliamentary group”, he continues.
“No regrets”
In a post on X, Juntti says she does not regret her decision and stresses that it is important to stand up for what you believe in – even if you risk reprisals.
“As punishment for voting against the legal gender change for 16-year-olds, I am leaving the Civil Affairs Committee. Sometimes you have to make decisions even when you know there will be negative consequences. But I have no regrets”, she writes.
Among voters, support for Juntti seems strong, with many pointing out that she was the only M member who actually sided with voters on the issue, and that it is Kristersson and the rest of the party leadership who should be ashamed of their actions and who will be judged by history.
Du tog helt korrekt beslut, Ellen. Glöm aldrig att du har både ditt partis, samt de övriga tidöpartiernas väljare i ryggen.
Agerandet från partiledningen är under all kritik. Ett enormt svek mot deras egna väljare.
Historien kommer visa att du hade rätt – och partiledningen…
— Herr Husis (@HerrHusis) June 24, 2024