The US enters the Swedish election

It rarely happens, but this year it has. The United States plays a role in the Swedish election race. The red-green coalition of the Left, the Greens and the Social Democrats writes in their program on Sweden's relation with the outside world that "a red-green government will demand that the US discontinue their nuclear weapons and military bases outside of the country's borders". The center-to-right-coalition Alliansen (currently in power) did not hesitate to jump on it, and criticized the policy heavily. The minister of foreign affairs, Carl Bildt, believed it would threaten Sweden's relationship with the US and give Sweden a minuscule role in world politics. Further, he claimed that this was an "apparent display of anti-Americanism". Right wing media has interpreted this as a show that the Left has gotten to much of a say as the party "remains in the isolationist world view of the 1970s where the US and Israel make up the axis of evil".

I am very much interested in the discourse of anti-Americanism, and to say that this policy bears the markings of it is an overstatement. Anti-Americanism is usually (although contested) defined as something close to "sharp criticism towards America with signs of hatred and despise towards the entire nation". This policy is more colored by a general criticism and, most important, skepticism among the Swedish Left towards the United States. The Right has in modern times usually been more positive towards American influence and American policies, in Sweden or in the world. During the Cold War the Left (then with the appendix "Communists") was closely aligned with Moscow, which has of course shaped their view on the US and how Sweden should relate to it. It has lead the Left to very critical of U.S. involvement in the world, almost regardless in which shape and form it has taken, and much of the view is a general skepticism towards American intentions. I will come back to the view of American among the different parties as the election comes closer (to be decided in September).

So the Swedish relationship with the United States has gotten a place in the election debate. Is it likely to affect much of the outcome? Highly unlikely. The sad state of Swedish foreign policy very rarely decide anything in elections, and I would be very surprised if this debate moves more than a handful voters between the blocs. Especially in meager and dire economic times domestic issues completely dominate the debate, sadly.