EU Observer (13 January 2023)

Malin BJÖRK

New year, new Swedish leadership in the European Council. And in 2023 political pariahs, once associated with violent racists and swastika-wearing Nazi sympathisers, are dangerously close to the helm.

Like many, I assumed that the Swedish Presidency would be an opportunity to make progress on some of the EU's most pressing challenges; climate, refugee policy, gender equality, rule of law and democracy. But my hopes were dashed when it became clear that Sweden would have a rightwing conservative government propped up by the far-right Sweden Democrats.

Mainstream conservatives, who once positioned themselves as the bulwark against right-wing extremism, have instead joined forces in a desperate attempt to gain power. While the Sweden Democrats are not officially in government, they now yield considerable influence over policies that affect us all.

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