The Social Democrats Play the 'Russia Card' Against the Sweden Democrats – Despite the Party's Clear NATO Shift

The Social Democrats’ party secretary Tobias Baudin is launching a strong attack against the Sweden Democrats, demanding that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson guarantee that the party will not be given responsibility for foreign or defense policy after the next election. However, critics argue that the move relies on a few statements by local representatives rather than SD’s actual security policy line – and that Baudin is thus ‘playing the Russia card’ in the political debate.

The background is that SD leader Jimmie Åkesson recently stated on Ekot’s Saturday Interview that the Sweden Democrats would, in a future government shift, demand several of the most important ministerial posts, including defense and foreign minister.

The Social Democrats have reacted strongly to this. Party secretary Tobias Baudin is now demanding that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson publicly pledge that SD should have no influence over Swedish security and foreign policy.

– It could be Sweden Democrats who we might send to the next NATO summit, to the next meeting with the world’s foreign ministers. It’s not reasonable, as they have repeatedly been exposed for spreading pure Putin propaganda, claims Baudin in a statement to TV4.

Points to Local Recruitment

The Social Democrat leader describes such a scenario as a threat to Sweden’s security. To support his criticism, Baudin refers among other things to publicized remarks by the SD municipal politician Emelie Pilthammar in Sölvesborg, who compared Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a ‘plague or cholera’ choice.

The comments led to internal criticism and a formal warning from the Sweden Democrats. At the same time, Pilthammar is a brand new recruit for SD and has received her political training and values in the Moderate Party, for which she worked and held office for 20 years.

Baudin also highlights that in 2022, Jimmie Åkesson avoided answering the question whether he preferred Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin, and that a former employee of SD’s communications department had made positive remarks about the Russian president on social media.

Critics, however, say that these examples are a flimsy basis for questioning an entire party’s suitability in security policy matters. According to them, Baudin should relate instead to the Sweden Democrats’ official policy.

SD’s Line: NATO, Rearmament and Support for Ukraine

The Sweden Democrats’ security policy has undergone major changes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The party abandoned its previous opposition to Swedish NATO membership and endorsed Sweden’s application to join the defense alliance.

Since then, SD has consistently supported Swedish rearmament, NATO membership, and extensive support for Ukraine. The party has also participated in the broad security policy agreements that have characterized Sweden’s defense and security policy in recent years.

Åkesson and Baudin. Photo: Ninni Andersson/Government Offices / Frankie Fouganthin, CC BY 4.0

Even before the war in Ukraine, SD representatives demanded stricter sanctions against Russia and were for a long time strongly critical of the disarmament pursued by, among others, the Social Democratic government after the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, when they argued the threat from the east had vanished. SD’s representatives also today describe Russia as the main security threat to Europe.

Questions About Double Standards

Baudin’s statement also raises questions about how the Social Democrats view the Sweden Democrats’ current role in security policy.

SD is already represented in the Defense Committee and thus participates in decisions on several of the most important matters regarding Sweden’s long-term defense capability.

When Baudin was interviewed by TV4 about this, he admitted that he would have preferred a different arrangement, but emphasized that ministerial posts confer far greater power than participating in committees.

Critics argue that the argument is contradictory – if SD is considered a security risk, the party should logically not be entrusted with places in the bodies shaping Sweden’s defense policy direction.

SD: ‘Silly Attack’

The Sweden Democrats dismiss the Social Democrats’ demands as an attempt to shift focus from other issues. The party’s press office sharply responded to Baudin’s statements.

– Should we really bother responding to such a silly attack? Very well, then: Baudin and his cronies are tricking pensioners out of money via their rotten lottery business; do we want that kind of people at the Ministry of Finance? No thanks, they reply.

But while the Social Democrats are trying to portray the Sweden Democrats as a security risk, opponents argue that the party is instead being subjected to a classic attempt to play the ‘Russia card’ – despite SD’s current support for both NATO membership and Sweden’s aid to Ukraine.