‘No longer neutral’ Sweden must apply for NATO membership – EURACTIV.com
Sweden must apply for NATO membership as it “is no longer neutral”, said Ulf Kristersson, chairman of the Moderates in opposition, to SVT’s Morning Studio in an interview on Wednesday where he repeated his call for membership.
Whether Sweden should apply for membership in NATO creates a major split between the Social Democratic government and the opposition.
However, the largest opposition party, the Moderates, believes that Sweden’s neutrality is over. The party has promised to submit an application if it wins the next election – regardless of the current government’s position on the issue:
“The Social Democrats’ internal processes should not block Sweden,” he said, adding that “a minority does not have the right to block NATO membership if a majority believes it is the right path for Sweden.”
Last week, the Social Democrats’ Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Ulf Kristersson visited NATO’s “Cold Response” exercise in Norway, where 1,600 Swedish soldiers participated. Although the two agreed on the necessity of such exercises, Andersson still does not believe that NATO membership is necessary for her country.
According to the ruling Social Democrats, a NATO membership would jeopardize the neutral position Sweden has had since the Second World War. According to Kristersson, this approach no longer applies.
– For me, it is obvious. We belong to the western world. We belong to the free world. We are no longer neutral. We even send weapons to Ukraine. Russia knows where we belong, he said.
Kristersson has previously said that if his party were to win the parliamentary election in September, he will apply for membership in NATO, which he would like support from the Social Democrats:
“I want to do this together. This is not a political struggle, it is important for Sweden. I want to see broad political agreement,” Kristersson added.
If the Moderates were to win the next parliamentary election, one can count on support from the right-wing extremist Democrats in Sweden who, according to Kristersson, have opened up for NATO membership ”.