When the Sweden Democrats now gather for Landsdagar in Västerås, one of the hottest questions is expected to be whether the party should open to pushing for Sweden to leave the EU again.
A proposal for a Swedish exit has been put forward by the youth association Ungsvenskarna, and according to observers, the party leadership may well be overrun on the issue.
To be or not to be part of the EU. The question is not entirely easy for Sweden Democrats who see national self-determination as an important part of their identity. A few years ago, however, the party leadership dropped the demand that Sweden should leave the union, but now the youth association thinks it is time to start talking about that possibility again, in case too much power and economic influence is transferred to Brussels.
– We see value in the party being clear that there is a limit that the EU must not cross. And that if the EU crosses that border, there is a door where it says swexit, and that we are willing to go through that door, says Emil Eneblad (SD), national spokesperson for the Young Swedes.
The former party line can become the new line
SD’s party leadership does not want to go as far, but says instead that it wants to conduct a thorough evaluation of Sweden’s EU membership. But former press manager Henrik Gustafsson, who today does not belong to the party but still has contact with many members, believes that the Ungsvenskarna’s Swedish exit proposal could very well be voted through at the Landsagarna in Västerås.
– When you talk about core issues, and issues that are very important to many people within the Sweden Democratic movement, then I think there is an imminent risk that the former party line will thus become the new line, and that the Young Swedes will be heard for their motion, says Henrik Gustafsson, CEO of PR agency GW consulting group.
Among the Tidö parties, the proposal would bring the SD even further away from the EU craze in the Liberals. The EU is certainly not part of the Tidö Agreement itself, but just the thought of a swexit makes leading Liberals want to cover their ears.
– It is obvious that it is easy to believe that you can just leave the EU, but the consequences will be devastating. Just look at Britain’s economy and how difficult it has become for the British in their everyday lives, says Mats Persson (L), member of the Liberal party leadership.
– We must be clear to Brussels that if they come and trample on us and try to make Sweden a tax province within a European federal state, and turn Sweden’s Riksdag into a municipal council with orders from above about what you can and cannot do, then I think that it has gone too far, says Emil Eneblad (SD), national spokesperson for the Ungsvenskarna.