Davostag

[Augustus]

 

Opposition Leader, John Greger, Charged with Corruption and Attempted Bribery

15 October 5633 | Kivonia, Davostag

 

It is only a few weeks until 14 November, the day of the election for the 465 seats of the Riksdag. And as the election campaigns are in full swing, more than ever before, we can now report that the leader of the main extra-parliamentary party Union for Democratic Reform, John Greger, has been arrested by the civilian police on charges of corruption and attempted bribery. He is now being held in custody in the city of Renartsborg, where these crimes are said to have taken place. According to the 'Law on Appropriate Electoral Actions', also known as the 'Electoral Actions Law', passed in 5604, electoral candidates and members of political parties registered in official upcoming elections are not allowed to speak in private, either physically, on phone or digitally, with private or public businesses earning more than about 500 thousand Riksdaler* a year, the same goes the other way around. According to the Prosecutors' Office, Greger, had met with business leader Carl-Gustaf Cederstam, son of Ulf Cederstam, the patriarch of the Cederstam family that owns for example the Fortuna Group, Makoniska Enskilda Banken ("Maconic Individual Bank", MEB), Shippington and the football team Great Kivonia FF. If said meeting had been planned in advance between the two, it would mean that Cederstam would be charged as well, but the Prosecutors' Office have made it clear that they have evidence that Cederstam had been ambushed by Greger who attempted to convince him for financial support and future influence over government policymaking. They also state that it was Cederstam's secretary who had on his directive reported the so-called meeting.
 
John Greger and his defense attorney, Vilmer Strandhufvud, have categorically denied all charges. Instead they claim that an aide of Cederstam had cunningly led Greger into meeting with the business leader who had been in the same place. The electoral law Greger is charged with violating makes it clear that a candidate suspected of breaking said law is forbidden to stand and be registered for an election to public office until a verdict has been made. Thus, Greger has been disqualified for the election in the coming weeks and has therefore been removed as the top name of the UDR electoral list. This has infuriated his supporters who claim without evidence that the government and the ruling National Electoral Union (NVU) fabricated this charge by setting him up and, going into conspiracy theory frenzies, claiming that the Cederstam family have had ties to the government for hundreds of years and would certainly profit to see Greger and the UDR fail. Greger's wife, Lena Greger, who has co-founded the UDR and served as its secretary has taken the mantle of leadership of the party and encouraged their supporters to remain calm and make the right decision when the election day comes. Some of the more younger and radical members have encouraged supporters to take to the streets, something Lena Greger has discouraged as that would be another breach of the Electoral Actions Law, which forbids mass gatherings with the intention to protest around the weeks of the election but still allows peaceful gatherings in support of political parties.
 
Wictor Rolén, the secretary-general of NVU, commented on the arrest, saying that he is not surprised that Greger would attempt to gain the support of the Cederstam family, seeing as they are the wealthiest family in Davostag with a lot of influence in the private sector. He also said that he encourages voters to think real hard on who to put their vote on the 14th, stating that the choice lies between an experienced political actor (referring to the NVU) or what now seems to be a clumsy group of power and money hungry individuals. But he is apparently reassured that Davostag continues to vote black (the political color of NVU) and the political scene goes back to normal.
 
News report written by Karla Fridasdotter.
 
* (OOC: I use Swedish Crowns, SEK, to measure Davostager riksdaler. 500 thousand SEK equals at the time of writing about 47 040,10 US dollars)