A growing majority of Swedes return to NATO, an opinion poll shows
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STOCKHOLM, April 20 (Reuters) – A growing majority of Swedes are in favor of joining NATO, a survey showed on Wednesday, when decision-makers in both Sweden and Finland consider whether Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should lead to an end to decades of military neutrality .
The survey by Demoskop and commissioned by the newspaper Aftonbladet showed that 57% of Swedes now advocated a NATO membership, up from 51% in March. Those who were against joining fell to 21% from 24%, while those who were unsure fell to 22% from 25%.
The survey in March was the first to show a majority of Swedes joining NATO.
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Sweden has not been at war since Napoleon’s time and has based 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 radical consideration. Both countries are now considered in all probability to join the alliance with 30 countries. Read more
The Swedish government is reviewing security policy with a report that comes before the end of May, and the ruling Social Democrats are holding an internal debate on whether to close their long-standing objection to NATO.
The Demoscop survey, which consists of 1,177 interviews conducted from April 14 to April 19, also showed a growing support for membership among Social Democratic voters with significantly more to join the alliance than to oppose it.
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Reporting by Niklas Pollard; Edited by Simon Johnson
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