Støre wants to repair relations with Sweden – VG
COPENHAGEN (VG) Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor Party) believes that it is necessary to repair relations with Sweden after the pandemic. Therefore, Stockholm will be the destination for his first official trip abroad.
– After the pandemic, there are a number of things we have to repair. This applies in the political dialogue, but also to regain the trust of the people, says Støre to VG in Copenhagen.
On Wednesday, he will meet his Nordic prime minister colleagues in Copenhagen and will also take part in a question and answer session in the Nordic Council.
After many months of completely or partially closed borders, the borders between Norway and Sweden are now in the process of being terminated – but the situation along the border has created a lot of frustration, on both sides.
– Must take seriously
But not for everyone:
– Some Swedes are reluctant to travel back. This is a problem we must take seriously. It is a tradition in the Nordic countries that people from the other countries come and take work in Norway in good times, and the other way around when the situation is right.
– Shall we go back to yours?
– You have to follow the rules for entry and exit. But in the Nordic countries, the borders are the most open in Europe. And there is yours we want. But it is the responsibility of every government to provide security and control at home. We must have that as our first priority, says Støre.
Støre has also been to the climate summit in Glasgow this week – see his speech here:
First woman to the top
Sweden will have a new prime minister when Støre arrives in Stockholm on 22 November.
This weekend, the Labor Party’s sister party, the Social Democrats, elects Magdalena Andersson as the new party leader after Prime Minister Stefan Löfven. He announced his resignation in late August, having been party leader for nearly ten years, and prime minister for seven years.
Next week, he will resign as prime minister, and make room for Andersson as Sweden’s first female prime minister. Andersson is currently Minister of Finance in Löfven’s government.
As early as next Sunday, Jonas Gahr Støre will travel on a quick trip across the border, as a guest at the Social Democrats’ congress in Gothenburg – where the change of leadership will take place.