Continued criticism of Anders Ygeman's (S) statements about vulnerable areas

Too high a proportion of residents with a non-Nordic background in an area can be a problem, said Integration Minister Anders Ygeman (S) recently in an interview with Dagens Nyheter.

Ygeman highlighted that, with inspiration from Denmark, he wants to see clearer criteria for the classification of vulnerable areas.

The statements in the interview continue to be criticized from several quarters.

- It is racist, it is not responsible and it is not serious.

It's a punch in the air.

If the problem is that people don't learn Swedish, we could have discussed SFI from day one or more resources for the schools in these areas, says Tony Haddou, migration policy spokesperson for the Left Party, in a debate with Ygeman in Aktuellt.

- You make the class question and the question of economic differences into a question of ethnicity, that's what the racism in this is, says Tony Haddou.

Ygeman: You can't turn a blind eye to ethnicity

Anders Ygeman dismisses the criticism: 

- It is completely wrong, I say the opposite in the article to which it is referred.

I say that crime, class and socio-economic differences are much more important, but you can't turn a blind eye to ethnicity.

If you do that, you cannot put in the right investments, he says in the debate.

Earlier this week, Ygeman also received criticism from C and MP, who just like V released the government.

But even internally within S, Ygeman receives criticism, reports Dagens Nyheter.

- We do not think that setting an ethnic border is the way forward, says Sedat Arif (S), municipal councilor in Malmö with responsibility for the labor market and social services, to DN.

S-top in Stockholm: "It is undignified"

Karin Wanngård (S), opposition councilor in Stockholm, believes that the most important thing is to focus on jobs, education and housing. 

- And it is clear that I oppose simplifying the debate to only discussing ethnic affiliation, because it is undignified, she tells DN.

Jonas Attenius (S), opposition councilor in Gothenburg, agrees with Ygeman in part but at the same time tells DN that he does not want to talk about numbers, referring to Ygeman's statement that it is bad for areas with a majority of residents with a non-Nordic background.