Nordic NATO Expansion Delayed for Weeks
Turkey vowed to block NATO accession for Sweden and Finland as soon as the two countries handed in their applications.
Turkey vowed to block NATO accession for Sweden and Finland as soon as the two countries handed in their applications.
Finland and Sweden should consider what it means for the reputability of NATO itself, when two supposedly sound democracies must abandon all democratic procedure in order to apply for membership.
The prime minister expressed confidence in the Swedish people’s support for the membership application, however that confidence will not be put to the test. The NATO application will neither be the subject of a vote in the Riksdag—the Swedish Parliament—nor a referendum.
It looks increasingly unlikely that the Swedish people will get to voice their opinion on the question of NATO membership.
With my direct experience and decades-long analysis of Swedish politics, I question whether the Swedish Parliament can sustainably fund a NATO membership. However, even if they do, there is another, more controversial aspect: the rise of radical Islamism.
A statement from the Russian government repeated Moscow’s long-standing opposition to further expansion of NATO. This, Russia says, “will not bring stability to the European continent.”
Over two years, Päivi Räsänen was subjected to more than 13 hours of police interrogations requiring her to justify her remarks, interrogations she considers “perfectly absurd.”
A clear majority, 65-77% among center-right voters, want Finland to join NATO, while only 39% of voters for the radical Vänsterförbundet are in favor.
Just days after the world entered its third year of the pandemic, Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) announced that her government would end all COVID-19 restrictions by mid-February.
Finland explicitly says “violations against human rights and religious freedom cannot be tolerated anywhere;” just days later, a politician is put on trial for expressing her religious convictions. Nina Shea captured the irony with biting concision: “Finland acts like a pyromaniac at home and like a fireman for Pakistan when it comes to freedoms of religion and speech.”
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