Sweden: Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson has rejected a referendum on NATO membership

Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson said on Thursday that the Swedish government had no plans to hold a referendum if parliament decided to begin the NATO nomination process.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is the best way to ensure military neutrality and national security to reconsider the traditional position of Sweden and Finland, and both countries are expected to take a decision in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Anderson thinks a referendum is a “bad idea”: “I do not think it’s a good title for a referendum,” he told reporters on Thursday. Agerpres.

“A lot of information about national security is confidential, so important facts that cannot be discussed and put on the table in such a referendum are an important topic,” he argued.

The Swedish parliament is reviewing its security policy, with a report on the issue expected in mid-May.

Separately, Magdalena Anderson’s Social Democrats are debating whether to drop objections to NATO membership.

With a majority in parliament, the ruling party is seen as the biggest obstacle to Sweden’s candidacy.

The biggest opposition rejects calls for a referendum: “Swedish voters are not naive about Russia”

The leader of the largest opposition moderates also rejected calls for a referendum.

“The electorate … is not naive about Russia. It is very clear that the Swedish electorate understood what happened on February 24 and made the decision,” Ulf Kristerson told Aftonbladet during a discussion with Left Party leader Nushi Datkostar this week.

He said the Swedes, whose party opposes joining the coalition, should have a say in the decision. “It has to go back to the voters and there has to be very strong democratic support on this issue,” he told Aftonbladet.

Sweden will hold assembly elections in September.

According to a poll conducted by Demoskop and published by Aftonbladet on April 20, 57% of respondents support joining NATO, up from 51% in March.

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