Reviewed by Mark Langabeer, Hastings & Rye Labour Party member
The Man Who Played with Fire is a four-part documentary available on Sky. It is an attempt to discover who was responsible for the murder of Olof Palme, the Swedish Social Democrat leader and Prime Minister in 1986. Despised by big business and the far – right. He was unpopular with many right-wing Governments and was critical of the Stalinists that ruled in the Kremlin. In short, he had many enemies. However, he had many friends, in particular, in the former colonial world
I recall news pictures of his funeral. Other than JF Kennedy and Princess Diana, I’ve never seen such public grief on display. Most times, Palme was on the right side of history. His opposition to the Vietnam War, the arms race, apartheid and supporting many workers rights at home are the main reasons for his murder by extreme right -wing elements at home and abroad.
The programme drew attention of the official investigation and its failings. It was a crime novelist that gave some insight into Palme’s murderers. Stieg Larsson believed that the plot began with the apartheid regime in South Africa. Dali Tambo, the son of the ANC leader, stated that Palme had given more in financial support to the ANC than any other national leader. He and others had no doubt that a plot emanated from the apartheid secret services. Later, a high-ranking officer confirmed that a plot had been hatched by the Apartheid regime.
Following Larsson’s death, Jan Stocklasse spent ten years looking through Larsson’s files and interviewed some of the suspects. He passed on his and Larsson’s files to the Police. In 2020, the Chief Prosecutor gave a similar account of Palme’s murder. However, the authorities closed the case because the suspected murderer had died. As Stocklasse stated, he only pulled the trigger, his associates should be questioned and charged.
There are a number of lessons that should be drawn by the British labour movement. Neither the police nor the prosecuting services can be relied upon. It was the work of a crime novelist and an architect, that gave some answers. There are those that sympathize with the extreme right within the armed forces and secret services. Labour should root them out before they can murder labour and trade union leaders or others that may emerge in the struggle for workers’ rights.
