Sweden’s new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, ‘locksmith’ to the far-right – The New Indian Express
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s conservative leader Ulf Kristersson was elected on Monday prime minister in the Riksdag, who led the first government with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats.
With horn-rimmed glasses, good looks and a trim build, the 58-year-old leader of the conservative Moderate party swept Sweden’s parliamentary election in September with promises to fight crime and skyrocketing electricity prices.
As a former gymnast, he is often photographed living an active life, running or walking in nature with his dog Winston, the Welsh springer spaniel he got after losing the election in Sweden in 2018.
At the time, Kristersson had promised that he would never negotiate with the nationalist and anti-immigration Sweden Democrats – who were then seen as “pariahs” on the country’s political scene – and subsequently failed to oust the social democratic government that has been in power since 2014.
Fast forward four years and he’s had his revenge — after a major U-turn.
Kristersson began exploratory talks with the Sweden Democrats in 2019, a collaboration that has deepened in the years since, prompting the Moderates’ traditional center-right allies to follow suit.
His critics have accused him of “selling out” to the far right. Kristersson has defended the bond as “my side of politics”.
Together, four right-wing parties won the election and ousted the Social Democrats, who had dominated Swedish politics since the 1930s.
‘Straighten out’ Sweden
While the new government will consist of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, it will be supported in the Riksdag by the Sweden Democrats to give the government a majority.
The four have presented a 62-page roadmap for their cooperation, strongly influenced by the extreme right with major crackdowns on, among other things, crime and immigration and the construction of new nuclear reactors.
Kristersson, a Tintin fan with an economics degree, had campaigned hard on issues close to the heart of the right and right-wing voters, earning him criticism as a softer version of the Sweden Democrats.
He promised to crack down on migration and crime and “straighten out” a Sweden that, in his view, has lost control over too many issues, ranging from sky-high gang shootings to high unemployment and a shortage of midwives to disorderly school classrooms.
“A Sweden that doesn’t work has become the new normal,” he hammered throughout the campaign.
Kristersson has also promised to bring down sky-high electricity prices.
“Locksmith on the far right”
His incoming alliance, which was due to take over on Tuesday, said last week that new nuclear reactors would be built, after decades of phasing out nuclear power in Sweden.
Kristersson was born in Lund in 1963, and got his feet wet in politics as a teenager in high school and took over the Moderates’ youth wing a few years later.
He quickly rose through the ranks of the party and was elected to parliament in 1994.
He has taken occasional breaks from politics to work in communications and as chairman of the board of an adoption agency. Kristersson is married and the father of three daughters adopted from China.
“Kristersson could go down in history as a far-right locksmith” who opened the door for the Sweden Democrats’ acceptance on the political stage, wrote the reference newspaper Dagens Nyheter before the election.
At the time, however, Kristersson could not have predicted that by giving his blessing, the extreme right would overtake the Moderates as the largest party on the right and the country’s second largest party in the parliamentary elections.
His election victory may have saved his political career.
“The vision the Moderates have of their party leader is quite similar to that of the CEO of a listed company: as long as everything goes well, he can stay, but if things go badly, he must leave the same day,” said political historian Torbjörn Nilsson. .
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s conservative leader Ulf Kristersson was elected prime minister in the Riksdag on Monday and led the first government supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats. With horn-rimmed glasses, good looks and a trim build, the 58-year-old leader of the conservative Moderate party swept Sweden’s parliamentary election in September with promises to fight crime and skyrocketing electricity prices. As a former gymnast, he is often photographed living an active life, running or walking in nature with his dog Winston, the Welsh springer spaniel he got after losing the election in Sweden in 2018. At the time, Kristersson had promised that he would never negotiate with the the nationalist and anti-immigration Sweden Democrats – who were then seen as “pariahs” on the country’s political scene – and subsequently failed to oust the social democratic government in power since 2014. Fast forward four years and he has had his revenge — after a major turnaround. Kristersson began exploratory talks with the Sweden Democrats in 2019, a collaboration that has deepened in the years since, prompting the Moderates’ traditional center-right allies to follow suit. His critics have accused him of “selling out” to the far right. Kristersson has defended the bond as “my side of politics”. Together, four right-wing parties won the election and ousted the Social Democrats, who had dominated Swedish politics since the 1930s. ‘Straighten out’ Sweden While the new government will consist of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, it will be supported in the Riksdag by the Sweden Democrats to give the government a majority. The four have presented a 62-page roadmap for their cooperation, strongly influenced by the extreme right with major crackdowns on, among other things, crime and immigration and the construction of new nuclear reactors. Kristersson, a Tintin fan with an economics degree, had campaigned hard on issues close to the heart of the right and right-wing voters, earning him criticism as a softer version of the Sweden Democrats. He promised to crack down on migration and crime and “straighten out” a Sweden that, in his view, has lost control over too many issues, ranging from sky-high gang shootings to high unemployment and a shortage of midwives to disorderly school classrooms. “A Sweden that doesn’t work has become the new normal,” he hammered throughout the campaign. Kristersson has also promised to bring down sky-high electricity prices. “Locksmith to far-right” His incoming alliance, which was due to take over on Tuesday, said last week that new nuclear reactors would be built, after decades of nuclear phase-out in Sweden. Kristersson was born in Lund in 1963, and got his feet wet in politics as a teenager in high school and took over the Moderates’ youth wing a few years later. He quickly rose through the ranks of the parties and was elected to the Riksdag in 1994. He has taken breaks from politics from time to time to work in communications and as chairman of the board of an adoption agency. Kristersson is married and the father of three daughters adopted from China. “Kristersson could go down in history as a far-right locksmith” who opened the door for the Sweden Democrats’ acceptance on the political stage, wrote the reference newspaper Dagens Nyheter before the election. At the time, however, Kristersson could not have predicted that by giving his blessing, the extreme right would overtake the Moderates as the largest party on the right and the country’s second largest party in the parliamentary elections. His election victory may have saved his political career. “The vision the Moderates have of their party leader is quite similar to that of the CEO of a listed company: as long as everything goes well, he can stay, but if things go badly, he must leave the same day,” said political historian Torbjörn Nilsson. .