Mattias Karlsson (SD): Republikanernas strategi blir en dödskyss för konservativa globalt

Mattias Carlsson Sweden Democrats You have been strongly critical like many others of Trump's conduct regarding the Greenland issue What do you see happening It's a complete breakdown of not only the Western alliance and the Western community but also any genuine form of rule-based world order It's a charged term but at its core it's about whether we should have laws and rules governing how countries interact with one another Yet the current U S administration appears to be answering no to that having seemingly shifted toward a system where a powerful nation holds the right to dictate dangerous developments for a small country like Sweden What do you see as the potential consequences this could have for other smaller countries around the world such as Ukraine It will be extremely difficult for the United States to criticize Russia's actions in Ukraine with any moral authority Just as it would be extremely difficult for the United States to criticize China over its ban on certain actions aimed at entering and taking Taiwan for instance Now Trump apparently wants to establish here the principle that might makes right—that the strong have the right to take whatever they want As stated this is a very very troubling development for the world and the Western alliance Trump's remarks haven't always backfired before particularly in relations with Canada which have gone particularly poorly What do you think about this kind of behavior It's really counterproductive I assume the Republicans' goal is what's stated in their security strategy: to strengthen similar parties and conservative movements around the world What we've seen so far is that Trump's actions effectively turn intervention in other countries' internal affairs into a death knell especially when he and the Republicans get involved Indeed he managed to undermine the conservative movement in Canada which had appeared poised to win the election Instead we ended up with a left-wing government By speaking extremely disrespectfully about Canada and declaring intentions to annex it the idea of creating a new U S state has alienated the entire Canadian government and population Instead of bringing Canada closer we've ended up with Canada signing a free trade agreement with China Instead they've pushed their closest former allies in a different direction urging them to increase trade with their strongest rivals That's a counterproductive approach one I simply don't understand What does this mean for the relationship between conservative Americans and Europeans It's severely complicated What unites all conservatives is a shared commitment to their country their local community and their values and beyond that they can cooperate on various issues where their interests align Now the American conservative movement is taking over our neighborhood He stands before the threats aimed at one of our Nordic neighbors threatening to seize their territory and use military force to kill Danes It's obvious that it's impossible yes in principle a constructive collaboration Much of this is about security policy and natural resources What would you like to see the EU and Sweden do to help Denmark develop these rare earth minerals That's not my area of expertise but Denmark has certainly signaled its openness to business Even toward the United States those who come there under fair conditions and wish to help develop mining industries are welcome to do so One must have been extremely consistent in saying no for instance to China because it's well known that China exploits such footholds to gain political leverage You've previously advocated for a stronger Nordic cooperation What would you like to see in such a partnership and how could it help in this instance The current world order which unfortunately appears to be a reality now means that one can no longer trust any major broad-based alliances I believe that when we seek security we must turn inward toward home The only places in the world where I can fully trust our allies are in the Nordic region We share so much in common historically linguistically culturally geopolitically and so on That’s why I think it’s natural for the Nordic countries to further integrate—ideally even forming a Nordic union And that together we rest and stand strong We should seek broader cooperation and wider alliances with other countries as far as possible I believe we must ground our starting point and foundation in the Nordic region Thus the Nordic cooperation must be further strengthened and we must establish institutions that bring this vision to life The Covid pandemic highlighted the world's dependence on China Russia's invasion of Ukraine highlighted significant deficiencies in defense and preparedness across Europe Which lessons do you think Europe is drawing from this and what should Sweden and Europe do now We must manage risk more effectively We must stop closing our eyes hoping for the best and instead prepare You can't just hope for the best you also have to prepare for it While it's true that this insight has taken hold broadly among European leaders I'll allow myself to question that notion just a bit I hope that at the very least we in Sweden and our Nordic colleagues can draw some conclusions