Sweden’s Prime Minister Andersson says “will not apply for membership in NATO” for the country’s security
Sweden’s new Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has said that the country will not apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). When the Prime Minister presented the policy of the new administration on Tuesday, the Prime Minister emphasized that the country’s non-participation in the US-led military alliance serves it well and also contributes adequately to the region’s security and stability.
Andersson emphasized, however, that her administration will not refrain from intervening if any other European or Nordic country were to be attacked. Andersson also claimed that her country will strengthen its defense co-operation with Finland and other Nordic neighbors within the EU, “in addition to deepening its partnership with NATO and the United States”.
“Our non-participation in military alliances serves our country well and contributes to stability and security in northern Europe. Sweden will not apply for membership in NATO. Sweden will not take a passive position if another Nordic country or EU member state is affected by a disaster or attack, and we expect these countries to act in the same way if Sweden is affected, Andersson says in a statement on the government’s website.
The Scandinavian state made headlines at the end of November after electing Magdalena Andersson as its first female prime minister. However, hours after being appointed Prime Minister, Andersson resigned after suffering a budget defeat in the Riksdag and her coalition partner The Greens left the minority government with two parties. Later, on November 29, she was re-elected with the support of her Social Democratic party.
Sweden has a new government, with Magdalena Andersson as our 34th Prime Minister. Andersson was appointed by the Riksdag yesterday and today presented his government policy.
Now, after a cabinet meeting with the king, the government has officially taken office. pic.twitter.com/m36hi3NtQv
– Sweden.se (@swedense) November 30, 2021
Sweden gets its first trans people
One day later, on November 30, Lina Axelsson Kihlblom became the first trans person to become Minister of State in Sweden. According to Local Sweden, the 51-year-old, who was born as a man and passed away in the 1990s, is a former school principal and lawyer. Divorced and the mother of two adopted children, Axelsson Kihlblom became famous after her successful work was chronicled in a televised documentary series.
Earlier, Kihlblom had described growing up as a girl in a boy’s body. In his book “Will You Love Me Now?” from 2015, the 51-year-old had informed that she completed the physical transition to a woman’s body at the age of 25. “Transgender people have always existed, they will always exist and we are no longer ashamed. We are the new normal,” she wrote in an article published in 2018 by SVT.
(Image: AP)