Sweden's PM grilled by EU MEPs on his dependence on the far-right

[Celerity]

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson faced a barrage of questions in the European Parliament on Tuesday over his dependence on far-right support, with one MEP accusing him of being "a hostage" to the Sweden Democrats.

https://www.thelocal.se/20230117/swedens-pm-grilled-by-eu-meps-on-his-dependence-on-the-far-right/

https://archive.ph/lh1kC


Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Kristersson protested that governments had been formed with far-right support in Finland, Norway and Denmark, and that Sweden was no different. “This government which Sweden has established has been a completely normal Nordic government since 2001,” he said. “This has been tried in Finland, Norway and Denmark with good results.”

Kristersson, leader of Sweden’s conservative Moderate Party, was in Strasbourg to present Sweden’s programme, as President of the European Council, to the parliament. Some of the most challenging questions came from MEPs from the green and left parties.

“Your government is now hostage to the Sweden Democrats,” declared the Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts, who is chair of the parliament’s green group, adding that his group were extremely concerned that a government with such a dependence on the far-right would be responsible for working on EU laws.

Manon Aubry, the French MEP who leads the Left grouping, warned that the Sweden Democrats “neo-Nazi use of language” was already widely spread in Europe. “You can’t play games with the extreme right, because when they take power, they will refuse to give it up in a democratic way,” he warned.

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