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Palme liked to be in opposition. He also wanted to have power. He was very cynical, and not the good man he tried to portray himself as. He has a background as a military commander and as an intelligence man, and a family heritage like few other. Above all Palme loved the colour Red.
Climbing the ladder
Climbing the ladder
This man can organize and make a career. He has been involved in founding several youth organisations with international ties as a young man. He became personal secretary for the Prime Minister at an early age, and was involved in creating the Swedish Stay Behind organisation in the 1950's. Again.. Palme co-founded the most secret intelligence and counter resistance organisation in Sweden.
He was the natural next in line as the Social Democratic party leader after Tage Erlander, which in Sweden equals becoming Prime Minister. That happened in 1969 when Olof was 42 years old.
If you understand the Swedish language the Palmemordet podcast might be for you. More than 400 episodes about everything related to the Palme murder.
A glance at his background
A glance at his background
Palme had a family background like few other. His family lineage in Sweden can be traced back to a Dutch immigrant in the 17th century. They were extremely wealthy and upper class e.g. eating French food and speaking French at dinner. Their apartment was bigger than most houses and located in an upperclass neighbourhood in Stockholm. I've heard rumours that Olof Palme speaks more than five languages fluently, and has quite an intellect.
The family has openly talked about Olof Palme being a 'traitor' to the family and their extremely conservative political views. Remember they are upper-upper class - almost royal in some senses. Being a Social Democrat is no different than being a communist to these people, so you notice the opposition again at an early age.
He lacks the good looks, and is definitely not a jock. His posture was weak and he was low. His nose was crooked and big. Not really the viking type - but he could strongman almost anyone in a debate. In there he was the champ. I'm sure that many people felt his charisma. Palme was famous for being in opposition to the USA and their 'imperialism', the apartheid regime in South Africa and the Vietnam war. Furthermore, he had close relations to the Ghandi family in India which was a country he had close ties to since his travels as an old teenager.
The more you learn about Olof Palme, the more you get a picture of a cynical career opportunist more than a passionat politician. You get a feeling that he didn't give a shit about anything else than him and his career. He is the most famous politician in Scandinavia ever, but I cannot recognize the perfect man many people try to portrait him as.
During a hostage situation in 1973, Olof Palme talked directly on the phone with one of the hostages. He told her that 'she should be proud of dying on the job' in case she was going to get shot... Cold.
Death by assassination
Death by assassination
Palme was shot in the back from close range on February 28th 1986, on the public streets of central Stockholm in Sweden. The murder has not been solved, and the investigation has spanned more than 30 years. There are so many motives to kill him when we look back. Palme also had a lot of enemies, and was not unfamiliar with pissing off powerful people. Even in his death palme creates opposition.
The murder has opened up a window into a kind of fantasy world in a small, yet large, Scandinavian country in the North of Europe. Sweden is portrayed internationally as the good samaritan, but in reality it is full of unscrupulous people, secret societies, spies and surveilance on a large level, and corruption. The good samaritan in in reality a large arms dealing country, a country that delivered iron ore to Nazi Germany, and a country with leaders that openly lies to it's public, even when their lies are revealed. It is so hypocritcal and fascinating.
Sweden is a beautiful country with a lot of smart people, but it ain't all blonde girls and Spotify.Google Sites
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