The NATO train will move forward regardless of who wins the Swedish parliamentary elections, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto estimated on Sunday evening. The vote count is still in progress.
Finnish politicians are following the Swedish elections closely, even though the exact same election themes are not being discussed on different shores of the gulf.
In Sweden, there was one theme above all others in these elections, and that was gang crime, the chairman of the coalition Petteri Orpo stated on Sunday evening after SVT’s forecast came out.
Several acts of violence have occurred in Sweden in recent years, many of which are connected to gang crime in one way or another. Crime was one of the biggest themes in debates and campaigning before the elections, which is certainly reflected in the result.
– It escalated this into a battle between the two, the Sweden Democrats and the Social Democrats, and a vote on whether the Sweden Democrats are fit to lead Sweden. I think that explains why the moderates came third according to the forecast, Orpo said.
– However, the differences between the left-wing and right-wing bloc are so small that we will now watch the vote counting until the end.
However, which bloc wins the elections in the end is of no importance to the cooperation between Finland and Sweden, for example in matters related to NATO or in other matters, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (green) said on Sunday, when the door-to-door survey was published in the early evening.
– I have the impression that the NATO train will go forward, no matter which bloc is in power. Both the bourgeois and the social democrats have committed to the NATO solution and given it their support, says Haavisto.
– I believe that cooperation between Finland and Sweden in defense matters will continue normally.
Chairman of Basic Finns Riikka Purra and party secretary of SDP Antton Rönnholm were in Stockholm on the spot at the election supervisors of their own sister parties.
The operation and success of the neighboring country’s sister party is of course important, even if the societies of Finland and Sweden are not exactly on the same starting points when it comes to, for example, immigration and security, Purra assessed on Sunday evening at the election supervisors of the Sweden Democrats in Stockholm.
– We at Basic Finns also talk about Swedish politics, because Finland unfortunately follows Sweden’s example in many matters. Of course, I hope that Finland will not end up in the situation in Sweden, he said, referring to security.
On Sunday evening, the Swedish Social Democrats, led by the Prime Minister, seemed to emerge as the largest party Sanna Marin (sd.) already had time to congratulate on the position of the largest party in the elections.
SDP party secretary who was present at the social democrats’ election supervisors in Stockholm Antton Rönnholm estimates that immigration was talked about less in this election than in previous ones. Instead, crime, neighborhood violence and the security situation were on everyone’s lips during the elections.
The result of the Swedish parliamentary election will probably be known for good on Wednesday, when all the votes have been counted.