Swedes cheer end of long wait to join Nato

Sweden officially joined Nato following a document handover in Washington. A decade ago a majority of residents were against joining the multinational military alliance. Many Swedes say there is palpable relief that the wait to secure membership in the military alliance is finally over. As Stockholm commuters rushed to work in temperatures of -1C, few were in the mood for a detailed post-mortem.

Sweden was long opposed to joining Nato. But support for membership crept up in the mid-2010s. In early 2022, the then Social Democrat government reversed its position. It followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden swiftly applied for membership. 63% of those asked in January 2024 said they supported Sweden becoming a Nato member, in a survey for polling firm Novus. There is also a clear sense of pride amongst many Swedes that their small country of just 10 million is being viewed as a valuable new member. Sweden’s membership application stalled because of opposition from Nato members Hungary and Turkey.

Turkey had initially withheld approval in a row over what it called Sweden’s support for Kurdish separatists, while Hungary accused Sweden of being hostile. The cameras zoomed in on the centre-right Moderate party leader beaming in the crowd. Dr Aylott said the long wait had been a source of frustration for Swedish politicians. Most of the political class is somewhere between mildly euphoric and just relieved, he said.

But there are still those who do not support Sweden’s Nato membership. Left party lawmaker Håkan Svenneling said there was now a risk of Sweden being drawn into other wars and conflicts. Chair of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society Kerstin Bergeå said state money would be better spent on diplomacy, in prevention, in addressing the causes of conflict. Official line from the government and the military is that there is a possibility of conflict.

Since all Nato members are expected to help an ally which comes under attack, Sweden will now be better protected. Despite accusations of alarmism, the messaging appeared to have a limited impact on the public. Few Swedes really think that the country is under serious threat. Aylott suggested that joining Nato would have a small but noticeable visual impact, which could impact public discussions.

He said there was already a public debate about where and when the Nato flag should be flown by public institutions.

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