Debate over migration policy continues in Sweden ahead of elections — The Guardian World
In Sweden, ahead of the general election on September 13, debate continues over tightening migration rules and policies concerning minors. In a The Guardian World column, Swedish journalist Martin Gelin notes that polls show a slight lead for the centre-left opposition, while tough approaches to migration and fighting crime retain influence in the country’s politics.
Decisions concerning children and elderly people
Gelin cites cases involving decisions by Sweden’s migration authority to expel people who had been living in the country. According to him, the parents of the infant Emanuel were told that the child was to be expelled to Iran separately from them, although the parents had Swedish residence permits. The author writes that rules allowing the family to remain in the country were tightened after the child’s birth.
The column also mentions Raif, a four-year-old with autism, who was told in the spring that he would be expelled unaccompanied. After extensive media coverage, the authorities reversed the decision. Among other examples, the author names a 74-year-old British man with dementia who was ordered to leave Sweden after 25 years of residence, as well as a British pensioner whose World Bank pension was not counted as a salary for meeting new income requirements for migrants.
Commenting on the series of decisions concerning children, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the law cannot be adjusted in light of every individual personal situation.
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The Tidö Agreement and the election campaign
The conservative bloc won the 2022 election by a narrow margin. In December of that year, the Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals concluded the Tidö Agreement with the far-right Sweden Democrats. It made it possible to form a minority government: the Sweden Democrats did not receive ministerial posts but gained significant influence over policymaking.
In Gelin’s assessment, the agreement changed approaches to migration, criminal policy, climate, energy, education and healthcare. The author also writes that new legislative initiatives in crime fighting were repeatedly adopted despite warnings from criminologists and sociologists about tougher punishments for children.
Expo report
Swedish magazine Expo, which tracks far-right extremism, reported that the partner of Gustav Gellerbrant, one of the influential ideologues of the Sweden Democrats, who also works for the party, allegedly has close ties to Russian influence operations. Gellerbrant, one of the architects of the Tidö Agreement, was placed on paid leave after these reports. Former Social Democratic defence minister Peter Hultqvist called the situation a security crisis for Sweden.
