A far-right Swedish MP is taking a break from politics after turning up drunk at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and smashing her television. William Petzall of the Sweden Democrats Party was taken to hospital by police on Saturday (5th February) before spending a night in the cells.
Petzail showed up at a party in Trelleborg, southern Sweden, at the apartment he used to share with his previous girlfriend. The police apparently found the MP stumbling around drunk in the stairway after receiving a number of calls about a disturbance.
“He was extremely intoxicated with liquor and tablets when we took him in,” police duty officer Hans Nilsson told Expressen.
According to the Aftonbladet newspaper, Petzall, who reportedly split from his girlfriend some months ago, damaged several objects in the apartment, including a TV. The 22 year-old, however, later claimed that the breakages were caused accidentally.
Petzall became the party’s representative for Dalarna, central Sweden, in September last year after joining the Sweden Democrats’ youth organisation. He also served the council in Boras, western Sweden, before his most recent appointment to the country’s parliament (Riksdag) .
Petzall’s fellow party members have been quick to distance themselves from his actions.
“What happened is obviously unacceptable. As one of the party’s Riksdag representatives, one must always exercise good judgement,” the Sweden Democrats’ deputy Riksdag group leader Sven-Olof Sallstrom said in a statement.
“We’ve come to an agreement with William Petzall that he immediately take a timeout from his political duties and that he seek help in order to deal seriously with the factors which lay behind the incident.”