The closed-door Davis Cup Tie

A Davis Cup tie between Sweden and Israel has been closed to spectators by local Swedish authorities. This should come as no surprise for those of you who follow what is going on in Malmö.

For the rest of you, here's a quick run-down:

Malmö, Sweden's third biggest city, has a growing and not so well integrated muslim immigrant population. The city is run by a coalition of political parties consisting of social democrats, former communists, and left-leaning environmentalists.

The social democrats are citing the security risk as the reason for closing the doors to the Sweden Israel Davis Cup Tie, but according to spokespersons for the former communists, with whom the social democrats share power in Malmö, the reason is Israel's alleged human rights violations in Gaza.

According to Sweden's Channel 8, the Malmö police claims it would have no problems guaranteeing the security at the tie (Judging by the fact that they weren't able to protect a pro-Israel demonstration against an angry mob of muslim immigrants and left-wing extremists earlier this year, I would not implicitly trust them.). But if we are assuming that the authorities trust the ability of the police to enforce the law, this only leaves us with one alternative. Apparently the social democrats are speaking with a forked tongue. Behold the strategy that will get the mayor of Malmö, Ilmar Reepalu reelected:

Pandering to Islamists and left-wing extremists who either deny the Holocaust or equate Israel with Hitler's Third Reich. It is a brave new world.

Or maybe Reepalu is just a coward.