Report indicates the strengthening of the country's defense side by all NATO member states

Support for Sweden's accession to NATO is accompanied by a sense of urgency

• Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson suddenly changed her plan.

  AFP

• A demonstration in front of Parliament in Stockholm against joining "NATO".

  AFP

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The war in Ukraine resulted in a wave of support for joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Sweden, while the candidacy is expected to be announced in the coming days.

But many MPs and citizens expressed a sense of haste.

"Everyone would have liked to have had more time because the issue is important," former Social Democratic prime minister Stefan Lofven told AFP.

At the same time, we know that we do not always have the time we want to have.”

On its march toward NATO, Stockholm seemed to have no sense of initiative.

The idea of ​​running did not really take hold until it became clear that neighboring Finland would do so.

"I also wish Finland could wait," former Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallström told AFP.

"It's a question that comes up during discussions, and it's worrisome," said Wahlstrom, who has changed her mind after being a long-time opponent of her country's membership in the alliance.

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersen's party announced on Sunday that it would change its line, after it had historically been anti-joining, paving the way to membership for the Scandinavian country, which has been outside military alliances for more than two centuries.

But in internal consultations, as well as at the national level, criticism emerged of a fast and charged debate aimed at aligning with the Finnish decision.

Anders Lindbergh, political writer in Aftonbladet newspaper, who is close to the Social Democrats, asserts that "Sweden is not the one who controls the calendar, but Finland, because it has a 1,300 km border with Russia."

The analyst notes that the change is of great importance, because Sweden "built its identity on its neutrality" and then its non-alignment.

The Scandinavian country has not had a war on its soil since it renounced military alliances in the early 19th century, after the Napoleon era.

Countries that used to make decisions and reach consensus after long government committees had to respond urgently this time.

On Friday, the parliament parties published a report on joining NATO after a few weeks of work.

According to military security experts, Swedish officials can only blame themselves for largely avoiding bringing the issue of "NATO" to the table.

"Before, the Swedish Social Democrats always said, 'We'll think about it when Finland joins,'" says Elizabeth Brau, a defense expert for the Nordic countries at the American Enterprise Institute. "Because they thought Finland would never join."

But Finland theoretically proposed the "NATO option" and the possibility of joining the alliance quickly if necessary, and in light of the availability of political consensus.

"The responsibility in this situation lies with the people and organizations who refused to discuss (NATO) until very recently," said Robert Dalshaw, a researcher at the Swedish Defense Research Institute.

"So yeah, it's going fast," he said.

But it's moving fast because it's a national security issue.

We cannot delay indefinitely, because people did not care about this issue before.”

Others argue that Finland has provided Sweden with the best possible service by speeding up the move.

The Swedes, who like to call the Scandinavian less densely populated countries "little brothers", found themselves this time in the role of the little boy.

And the headline of the daily newspaper "Expressen", last Thursday, "Without Finland, Sweden would not have joined NATO.

Thank you, big sister!”

• The Scandinavian country has not witnessed a war on its lands since it abandoned military alliances in the early nineteenth century, after the era of Napoleon.

• In its march towards NATO, Stockholm seemed to have no sense of initiative, as the idea of ​​running did not really take hold until it became clear that neighboring Finland would take the initiative.

• The Swedes, who like to call the Scandinavian countries less densely populated 'little brothers', found themselves this time in the role of the little boy.

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