Sweden joins Nato
It's official: after almost two years of suspense, Sweden finally became a Nato member yesterday. But the commentary in the national press shows that the mood in the country is far from euphoric. Rightly so?
Hangover pending
Given the situation in the US, Expressen sees no reason to start popping the champagne:
“We are not becoming a member of Ronald Reagan's Nato. Once the West's main bulwark against Moscow communism, the Republican Party in the US has abandoned the role of world policeman and turned into a conspiratorial personality cult full of contempt for Europe, for Nato, and indeed for the whole world except for ... Moscow. The presidential election is six months away. Donald Trump is ahead in the opinion polls.”
We can finally get rid of the muzzle
Now Sweden can be vocal in advocating international understanding again, Aftonbladet stresses:
“Sweden will still be Sweden in Nato. Soon we will hopefully be able to cast aside the muzzle and criticise Turkey and Hungary again. Our two-year silence in the face of atrocities against the Kurds in Turkey and the decline of democracy in Hungary was the lowest point of the Nato accession process. Soon we must start talking about disarmament and limits on nuclear weapons, about the value of diplomacy and negotiations. ... The right likes to say that all this is now in the past. That is not true. Norway has been a member of Nato for almost 75 years and has no problem making itself heard internationally.”
Now we are part of the big peace project
Dagens Nyheter highlights the role of the military alliance:
“We are not joining because we feel compelled to do so. This decision is a moral one. Nato is a peace project. From the outset it consisted mainly of open democracies that felt threatened by a powerful dictatorship which saw people's desire for freedom as an existential threat. ... The stronger Nato becomes, the greater the likelihood that Putin will abandon his plans to re-establish the Russian empire. ... Democracy and freedom continue to exert the biggest powers of attraction for millions and millions of people. ... Putin's power will end. Until then it's nice to stand together with good neighbours.”