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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STOCKHOLM 000224 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SW
SUBJECT: SWEDEN:  FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES IN AN ELECTION 
SEASON 
 
REF: A. EMAIL CHRISTENSEN/DALLAND 2/15 
     ¶B. STOCKHOLM 192 
 
Classified By: Polcouns Casey Christensen, reason 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
Summary and Comment 
-------------------- 
¶1.  (u) Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds outlined 2/15 GoS 
priorities during the annual plenary foreign policy session 
of parliament, sparking pointed exchanges with the opposition 
as each side sought to lay down pre-election markers. 
Sweden's relationship to NATO and the U.S. were prominently 
featured by both Freivalds and opposition figures.  Freivalds 
reiterated the GoS approach of not participating in military 
alliances, while the Moderates and Liberals called for a 
discussion of NATO membership.  The opposition Alliance for 
Sweden (Moderates, Liberals, Christian Democrats, and Center) 
made much of differences of views regarding Sweden's 
relations to the EU among the governing Social Democrats and 
their Left Party and Green supporters, while Freivalds 
highlighted differences among the  Alliance for Sweden 
parties in terms of support for NATO membership.  The GoS and 
its supporters were more critical of Israel than were the 
Alliance members.  Freivalds said Sweden hoped to continue to 
provide development support to the Palestinian areas. 
Freivalds noted during the debate, in response to a question, 
that she would be meeting soon with Secretary Rice, and 
intended to raise human rights issues with her. 
 
¶2.  (c)  The parliamentary debate provided a good preview of 
foreign policy issues that will be raised in the run-up to 
the September parliamentary elections -- although the 
campaign will primarily focus on domestic welfare state 
issues -- and an idea of what a change of government could 
mean for U.S. policy interests.  The two leading parties of 
the opposition, Moderates and Liberals, are pro-NATO, and 
call for greater bilateral cooperation with the U.S.  Their 
Christian Democrat and Center Party allies take a more 
nuanced stance, especially on NATO, with the Center Party 
living up to its name.  The governing Social Democrats are 
pragmatic on working with NATO, while saying no to 
membership, but rely on the support of the Left Party, which 
portrays the U.S. as the source of all that is wrong in the 
world, and the Greens, which also broadly criticizes U.S. 
policy.  For more than a year, the Alliance for Sweden 
parties have been leading in the polls.  But support for the 
Social Democrats runs deep, and is tied to two traditional 
political pillars:  military non-alignment and support for 
the welfare state.  By underscoring the "risk" of a push to 
join NATO that would be posed by an opposition victory, 
Freivalds was playing on fears that the "bourgeois" parties 
could imperil the Swedish model.  To the extent that foreign 
policy figures in the elections, we are likely to hear this 
refrain again.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
GoS Foreign Policy Priorities 
----------------------------- 
¶3.  (u) Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds presented 2/15 the 
annual statement of Swedish foreign policy to the parliament 
(ref A).  Freivald's full statement is available in English 
at http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/3103/a/58251. Relevant key 
points included: 
 
-- a restatement of Sweden's policy of "non-participation in 
military alliances." Freivalds made a virtue of cooperative 
non-membership:  "We value our cooperation with NATO, but see 
no reason for Sweden to join NATO.  Non-participation in 
military alliances gives us both the independence our 
international commitments need and the opportunity to 
participate in international cooperation for peace and 
security."  Freivalds challenged the opposition parties to 
present their views on NATO membership during the debate, 
seeking to highlight differences among the opposition members 
of the Alliance for Sweden. 
 
-- a measured call for developing cooperation with the U.S.: 
"Just as we need a commitment from the USA on global issues, 
the USA needs the international community to enable it to 
deal with its own threat scenario."  In response to question 
regarding Sweden's relations with the U.S. and human rights 
issues, Freivalds said she would be meeting with Secretary 
Rice soon, and would raise human rights. 
 
-- an implied openness to deal with Hamas on Palestinian 
 
STOCKHOLM 00000224  002 OF 003 
 
 
issues:  "A completely new political situation has emerged 
(following the Palestinian elections) that the international 
community and Israel must deal with in a sensible way. 
Support for peace efforts on the part of Sweden and the EU 
must continue.  We also want to continue our support to the 
Palestinian areas.  However, the level of cooperation depends 
upon the actions of the new Palestinian government.  It must 
dissociate itself from violence in words and deeds, and 
accept Israel's right to exist." 
 
-- a tough line on Iran:  "It is not in any country's 
interest that Iran acquires nuclear weapons.  The pressure on 
Iran's leadership must be kept up.  In the longer term, the 
whole of the Middle East should be made a zone free of 
nuclear weapons." 
 
-- an emphasis on the importance of the UN, and the need for 
UN reform:  "One of the Government's top foreign policy 
priorities is UN reform," including a reformed Security 
Council. 
 
-- a focus on difficult countries in Sweden's neighborhood, 
including Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus:  "During the year, a 
broad initiative to promote Sweden will be conducted in 
Russia," where a new Consulate General will be inaugurated in 
Kaliningrad.  On Ukraine, "Sweden is one of the countries in 
the EU that is most clearly advocating a membership 
perspective for Ukraine" in the WTO and the EU.  Belarus "is 
governed by a hard-line, authoritarian regime.  Sweden's 
support to the democratisation of Belarus is best expressed 
through involvement, not isolation." 
 
The Opposition Response 
----------------------- 
¶4.  (u) Each of the four opposition parties responded 
separately.  Moderate Party vice-Chair of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee Gunilla Carlsson chose to focus initially on the 
Government's failures in connection with the humanitarian 
disaster in Darfur, calling for UN boots on the ground with 
Swedish forces contributing.  This was intended to 
demonstrate the gap between the Government's rhetoric and its 
actions.  The Alliance for Sweden has called for a more 
muscular foreign policy, including a greater willingness to 
use force when necessary.  Carlsson may also have in intended 
to send a message to Swedish companies that they would be 
more secure abroad and better supported by a Moderate-led 
government.  Sweden's exports to Sudan have grown from 13 
million dollars in 1999 to 80 million dollars in the first 11 
months of 2005.  Carlsson also underscored the importance of 
better cooperation with NATO and the U.S.  Carlsson noted 
differences among the Social Democrats, who support strong EU 
participation, and its supporting parties Greens and Left 
Party, which oppose Sweden's EU membership.  In a later 
intervention, Carlsson raised the specter of Left party 
leader Lars Ohly as a possible Foreign Minister. 
 
¶5.  (u) Liberal Cecilia Wigstrom criticized the Government's 
role in pressuring a web service to shut down a web site 
publishing the Mohammed cartoons (ref B).  She called for 
closer cooperation with the U.S., and a recognition of the 
essential security role it has played in saving Europe from 
"the Nazis and communism."  Sweden's fence-sitting role in 
regard to NATO was not acceptable.  Sweden should drop 
neutrality and join NATO.  She also supported the U.S. 
intervention in Iraq. 
 
¶6.  (u) Christian Democrat Holger Gustafson called for "a 
better knowledge of religious questions" in order to avoid 
the backlash now experienced by Denmark.  He said the 
Government always criticized the U.S., and Social Democrats 
had sounded nearer to Russia than the U.S., while the U.S. 
was the bastion of values of democracy and human rights 
shared by Sweden.  Gustafson also criticized the Government's 
openness toward China, "a country with slave camps." He also 
noted that Christian Democrat head Goran Hagglund had 
nominated Cuban dissident Osvaldo Paya for the Nobel Peace 
prize. 
 
¶7.  (u) Center Party Agne Hansson called for a foreign policy 
based on a broad consensus.  During later debate, in response 
to Freivald's request for party representatives to state 
clearly their stance on NATO, Hansson said there was an 
understanding among the opposition that NATO would not be 
raised unless there was a broad consensus.  Hansson said the 
 
STOCKHOLM 00000224  003 OF 003 
 
 
U.S. should stop its plans for missile defense. 
 
The Government's Uncomfortable Allies 
------------------------------------- 
¶8.  (u) Left Party Alice Astrom decried the U.S. "double 
standard" on human rights, citing secret prisons, Guantanamo, 
and U.S.-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq.  She said 
the same requirements should be made of Israel as of Hamas, 
and called Israel an occupying power.  Astrom cited 
democratic "progress" in Latin America, with Chavez in 
Venezuela, Morales in Bolivia, and Lula in Brazil 
representing the poor people. 
 
¶9.  (u) Green Party Lotta Hedstrom criticized the U.S. for 
Abu Ghraib, renditions, and CIA flights.  She noted that 
Israel has nuclear weapons, but the U.S. choses to criticize 
Iran, Korea, and Pakistan.  Israel, she said, is an apartheid 
state and a sponsor of terrorism. 
 
A Final Word from the Social Democrats 
-------------------------------------- 
¶10.  (u) Social Democrat Chair of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee Urban Ahlin said Sweden could work with NATO "on 
everything except on the basis of Article V."  Ahlin said the 
U.S. approach of force had not promoted democracy in the 
Middle East.  The EU's attraction had a much better record at 
inducing democratic reform.  There was a long line still of 
countries wanting to join the EU; they recognize that they 
would have to make changes to do so.  The answer to the 
question of how to promote democratic reform was not military 
power. 
 
Comment 
-------- 
¶11.  (c) The parliamentary debate provided a good preview of 
foreign policy issues that will be raised in the run-up to 
the September parliamentary elections.  We underscore, 
however, that issues of health care, social security, sick 
leave, retirement, and other welfare state benefits are the 
major focus of this electoral campaign.  The NATO issue is of 
interest primarily because of how it will be used by the 
Social Democrats to underscore division among the opposition, 
not because the election will be, in any sense, a referendum 
on NATO membership.  At the same time, it is clear that the 
leading parties of the opposition, the Moderates and 
Liberals, would like to steer Sweden in that direction, as 
well as toward a closer relation with the U.S.  The Christian 
Democrats have a more nuanced, but quite positive view of the 
U.S., while the Center party balances itself on the fence as 
precisely as possible.  We will never make converts to 
Atlanticism of the Left and the Greens, although the later 
are more issue-oriented.  Support for the Social Democrats 
runs deep, and is tied to two traditional political pillars: 
military non-alignment and support for the welfare state.  By 
underscoring the "risk" of a push to join NATO that would be 
posed by an opposition victory, Freivalds was playing on 
fears that the "bourgeois" parties could imperil the Swedish 
model.  To the extent that foreign policy figures in the 
elections, we are likely to hear this refrain again. 
 
(Drafted by POL:CChristensen) 
NOBLE