Swedish politician blames transvestite ‘alter-ego’ for island junket

A Swedish MP has claimed that an all-expenses paid journey to the Spanish resort island of Gran Canaria was not a case of a politician accepting gratuities from corporate sponsors; arguing instead that it was his alter ego Ursula who received the offer.

Quizzed about his acceptance of the January sojourn which was funded by some 10 different corporations, including budget air carrier Norwegian, Frederick Federley deflected criticism squarely to his transvestite second self. “Well, this was pretty much tied to my drag personality, Ursula. It’s not me as a member of parliament doing this; it’s more a case of me travelling as my drag personality,” he said. Federley has previously made public claims that he does not engage in the habit of taking up free offers, especially from airlines.

Federley has never made any attempt to hide his predilection for being known as a cross-dresser and the recent Mr Gay Sweden competition saw Ursula make a notable appearance. The trip’s purpose, said Federley, was to research the island’s drag queen carnival in order to offer travel tips for future attendees. The invitation, which included four-star hotel accommodation, originated from Hanky.se, the Swedish gay community internet site, for whom Federley is a regular writer. The Local reports that the politician has denied media allegations that the trip was a political junket.
“Sometimes I get asked if I want to do something extra that has nothing at all to do with my parliamentary work. If it doesn’t clash with the job, I’ll take on a commission. And like anybody else I’ll ask to be paid for it,” wrote Federley on his own website blog. Although confused on several levels about the ramifications of his actions, Federley was intuitive enough to see the potential in the media allegations. “Maybe this will mean more publicity for Ursula, which in turn will lead to more work,” he wrote.