The Japan Times - Sweden's outgoing PM wants to 'make Sweden great again'

His goal after this election is "to make Sweden great again," he told AFP, echoing Donald Trump's famous slogan.

Since he came to power in the autumn of 2022, Sweden has gone from being known "for its shootings" to being known for "successful entrepreneurs," he said on the sidelines of a campaign rally.

The 62-year-old politician has for the first time pledged cabinet posts to the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, once considered political pariah, but played down the significance of the decision.

"There's nothing dramatic in that. Everybody can see that we have been cooperating successfully for the last four years," Kristersson said.

Going forward, the most important thing for Kristersson is "to seize the moment" to improve the lives of "ordinary people".

"You know, to make Sweden great again," Kristersson said.

The head of government said the country was on a journey "from shootings to Spotify".

"We used to be well-known for the daily shootings and killings. Now we are well-known for our very successful entrepreneurs, the tech industry, the successful defence industry, and the capital markets," he said.

Kristersson secured power in 2022 by making an unprecedented deal with the Sweden Democrats, giving them influence over policy in exchange for support in parliament, but it stopped short of letting them into the government.

This time around, he has also opened that door.

"Everybody can see that we have been cooperating successfully for the last four years. The same four partners that now jointly seek the mandate to continue for the coming years," Kristersson said.

He added that he didn't "negotiate ministerial posts before election results," meaning it would later be decided which positions would be given to the Sweden Democrats.

Responding to recent revelations that a Sweden Democrat civil servant in parliament had shared pro-Russian propaganda Kristersson assured that bringing the party into the government would "of course not" change the government's position on supporting Ukraine.

While he conceded that there were certain specifics regarding foreign policy where they disagreed, he stressed that on "big topics" such as Russia, support for Ukraine and the Swedish membership in NATO "we are very much alike."

Opinion polls in Sweden have for months shown the opposition left-wing bloc holding a strong lead ahead of Sunday's general election, although this has narrowed considerably in the final days of the campaign.

K.Hashimoto--JT