In the Swedish ski resort of Sälen, Monday January 8, like every year at the start of the year, senior army officers, researchers, political leaders and diplomats met for a three-day national conference on defense. Barely returned from vacation in Latin America, the conservative Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, addressed his fellow citizens : “We need to start speaking out loud about the expectations of Swedish citizenship. Ultimately, it’s about defending Sweden, our values and our way of life with guns in hand and at the risk of our lives. »
Since then, the clip has been circulating on social networks and the debate has raged: Sweden, which is still waiting for the green light from Turkey and Hungary to be admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO), could it really be the target of armed aggression? Mr. Kristersson, whose government depends on the support of the far right, then saw fit, in an interview, to question the loyalty of naturalized Swedes.
The Prime Minister’s remarks in Sälen had all the more effect as they were accompanied by a series of alarmist statements from other senior officials. On January 7, in a speech since seen more than 1.2 million times on X, his minister of civil defense, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, implored the population to prepare for the worst: “For a nation that has known peace as a pleasant companion for nearly 210 years, the idea that it is an unwavering constant of life is convenient. But relying on this conclusion has become more dangerous than in a very long timedid he declare. Many have said it before me, but let me say it with the force of office. In a less veiled way and with unvarnished clarity: There could be a war in Sweden. » The minister then addressed his fellow citizens directly, urging them to ask themselves the question: “Who will you be if war breaks out? »
Defense agreement with the United States
In turn, the next morning, on the set of the TV4 channel, the commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces, Micael Biden, asked his compatriots to “prepare mentally” to the possibility of war and ensures : “The more people who have thought about it and prepared, the stronger our society will be. » A few hours later, the message from Defense Minister Pal Jonson was tinged with the same gravity: “An armed attack on Sweden cannot be ruled out. War can happen, even to us. Russia’s objective remains the destruction of a free Ukraine and the creation of a Europe based on the rule of the strongest with buffer states and spheres of influence. »
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