[247 every moment] NATO dilemma with Swedish characteristics

On June 7, a vote of no confidence by the far-right Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) against incumbent Justice and Home Affairs Minister Morgan Johansson was defeated by 174 votes and 97 in favor. Earlier, Swedish Prime Minister Eva Magdalena Andersson, a member of the Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti, had announced that if Johnson was ousted, the government would resign.

Andersson's predecessor, Social Democrat Prime Minister Kjell Stefan Löfven, resigned after a no-confidence motion. At the time, the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) withdrew its support for the Social Democratic government over reforms introduced by Löfven to ease rent controls. Although Lewin then re-formed a new government, he announced his resignation in less than two months. Since then, Andersson's minority government has relied on the Green Party's out-of-government support to govern.

The Sweden Democrats have accused Johnson of being inexorably responsible for Sweden's growing gang crime. Sweden will see 342 shootings and 46 gun-related murders in 2021, a 13-fold increase from 2015. The Swedish National Crime Prevention Council's report noted that organized crime teams in Sweden contributed to the high rate of shootings. Andersson admitted after the race riots in April that "apartheid was allowed to exist for so long that the lives of different Swedish citizens were like two parallel worlds." Geographical segregation, social exclusion and immigrants who lack cultural integration Become fertile soil for gang crime.

But the right has blamed the influx of immigrants and a lack of toughness on the justice minister, with the Sweden Democrats calling Sweden a "gangster state" in parliament. Just after the Sweden Democrats moved for a no-confidence vote, the center-right opposition Sweden Moderate Party quickly announced its support for the motion. Andersson then criticized Moderata samlingspartiet leader Ulf Kristersson for colluding with the "political game" of right-wing populists in a "very irresponsible" way. Independent MP Amineh Kakabaveh (ئامینە کاکەباوە / Amineh Kakabaveh) became a "king maker" as the Kristdemokraterna and Liberalerna also announced their support for the motion.

Amine Kababwe is a former member of the Swedish Left Party. Born in Iran, she joined the guerrillas at the age of twelve with كۆمه‌ڵه‌ی شۆڕشگێڕی زه‌حمه‌تكێشانی كوردستانی ئێران / The Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, a left-wing political party that advocates self-determination in the Kurdistan region. She later arrived in Sweden and was granted political asylum by the Swedish government. In Sweden, she is known for her anti-racism and feminist stance, and she is also active in solidarity with still-active Kurdish groups.

The Kurds are a nomadic people living in Kurdistan, which borders Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, and have been active in the mountains of Kurdistan for more than 2,000 years. Since modern times, Kurds have been calling for Kurdish autonomy and independence. The most famous group that advocates Kurdish independence, the PKK (پارتیا کارکەرێن کوردستان / Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan), is at war with the Turkish government. Since Erdogan came to power, he has maintained good relations with the PKK. But as the situation changed, relations between Erdogan and Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party deteriorated, and violent clashes erupted after 2010.

Past Social Democratic governments have supported the Kurds' right to self-determination. At the same time, Kakabawe's crucial vote helped Anderson become prime minister. As a result, Anderson struck a deal with Kaqabawe to support the Kurds and criticize Erdogan diplomatically. Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist met with members of Syrian Kurdish militias in 2022, while Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted in December 2021 a photo of her with Group photo of Syrian Kurdish party officials.

Stable conditions lasted until Russia invaded Ukraine and Sweden decided to join Finland in applying for NATO membership. On May 20, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Sweden "a den of terrorism" and threatened to lift the arms ban on Turkey and extradite including Kaqabawe unless Sweden cut ties with Kurdish militias. the so-called "terrorists" within the country, otherwise Turkey would not agree to Sweden's membership in NATO. Sweden and NATO member states subsequently launched a diplomatic dialogue with Turkey on joining NATO.

The dialogue sparked criticism from Kaqabawe, who said the Social Democrats "did not keep their promise to allow a tyrant to decide who could serve in the Swedish government" and called on Sweden "not to yield to Erdogan and Turkey". On the afternoon of June 6, Kaabawe and the Social Democratic Party started negotiations again. On June 7, the general secretary of the Social Democratic Party said that "our previous agreement is still valid", while Kaabawe said that the Social Democratic Party assured her that "it will not compromise with Turkey in order to join NATO." Kaabawe then reiterated his support for the current government.

Although the current government has avoided the crisis of collapse, it also means that it is difficult for the Swedish government to find a suitable way to conduct diplomatic negotiations with Turkey on the issue of joining NATO. As a result, Sweden either compromised with Turkey and the government collapsed and could not join NATO; or confronted Turkey, which could not join NATO because Turkey opposed it.

It seems that this is a very Swedish dilemma.

(Editor in charge: New Bremen)