A growing majority of Swedes are going back to NATO, opinion poll shows
STOCKHOLM, April 20 (Reuters) – A growing majority of Swedes favor joining NATO, a poll showed on Wednesday, as policymakers in both Sweden and Finland consider whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should lead to an end to decades of military neutrality .
The survey from Demoskop and commissioned by the newspaper Aftonbladet showed that 57% of Swedes now favored NATO membership, up from 51% in March. Those opposed to joining fell to 21% from 24%, while those who were undecided fell to 22% from 25%.
The poll in March was the first to show a majority of Swedes in favor of joining NATO.
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Sweden has not been at war since Napoleonic times and has built its security policy on “non-participation in military alliances”.
But like Finland, the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, has forced a radical rethink. Both countries are now seen as highly likely to join the 30-nation alliance. Read more
Sweden’s government is reviewing security policy with a report due before the end of May, and the ruling Social Democrats are holding an internal debate on whether to drop their long-standing objection to NATO.
The Demoscope survey, consisting of 1,177 interviews conducted from April 14 to April 19, also showed growing support for membership among Social Democratic voters with significantly more in favor of joining the alliance than against it.
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Reporting by Niklas Pollard; Editing by Simon Johnson
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