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“Provocative”, “playhouse” and “security threat”.
That is Peter Hultqvist’s (S) assessment of the government’s and SD’s handling of NATO.
– NATO membership is beginning to drag on in such a way that it becomes humiliating for Sweden, he says.
Today NATO’s foreign ministers meet in Brussels.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was one of those who expected Sweden to participate in the meeting as a member state.
That was not the case.
The Social Democrats’ defense policy spokesperson Peter Hultqvist accuses the government of having been too optimistic about the process.
– They have done everything for easy assessments of how the membership issue should be sorted out. It has created expectations that have not been met.
At the same time, he accuses the government’s partner party, the Sweden Democrats, of repeatedly undermining Sweden’s application.
He calls Åkesson’s statement about demolishing mosques “extremely provocative”.
– It reverberates not only in Sweden and has consequences at various levels. It affects our conditions for NATO membership. It is not an action where you take responsibility for Sweden, says Hultqvist.
– Åkesson’s actions are very negative for Swedish security.
Calls Åkesson a security threat
Center party leader Muharrem Demirok today called Åkesson a security threat, a designation that Hultqvist agrees with.
– Åkesson personally and the entire party leadership are to be considered a security threat. You don’t understand the seriousness of the moment and you don’t understand the consequences of what you do.
According to Hultqvist, Magdalena Andersson’s demand from last Sunday – that SD officials in the government office should be fired – is “highly relevant”.
– In some areas, politics has become a kind of playhouse for whoever can cause the biggest headlines and create the most uproar. That’s what happens when right-wing extremists like Åkesson and his party hold the baton.
“Must show man now”
SD can “blow up border after border, get rougher and rougher in language and create bigger and bigger problems”, without Kristersson speaking out, Hultqvist believes.
– Kristersson must show himself man enough to draw a line.
– The one who benefits from division and undermining activities is Russia, which wants division. One desires chaos and chaotic conditions.
In one respect, Hultqvist shares Foreign Minister Billström’s assessments: There is not much more Sweden can do to speed up NATO membership now. Sweden has already fulfilled its commitments towards Turkey.
– Now it is NATO that must show that the organization’s “open door” policy applies. It is the internal pressure on Hungary and Turkey in NATO that must solve this. We can do nothing more.
In the meantime, Sweden must work on developing intergovernmental cooperation in the Nordic region, and deepen relations with the United States and Great Britain, Hultqvist believes.