Crisis Chronology

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SWEDEN

07/10/2023

Turkey agrees to allow Sweden to join NATO after serious discussions with the US.

03/19/2023

Erdogan says he will allow Finland to join NATO, but not yet Sweden. Hungary follows suit, saying Sweden’s admittance will be taken up later.

01/23/2023

Finland calls for a pause in three-way talks with Sweden and Turkey over joining NATO and suggests that Finland should perhaps join NATO even if Sweden is blocked.

01/21/2023

Right-wing demonstrators burn a Quran in Sweden, causing Turkey to call a halt to meetings on Sweden’s accession to NATO.

01/09/2023

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says that Turkey has asked for too many concessions regarding Sweden’s acceptance into NATO, saying that Sweden has done everything it promised to do, but Turkey is asking for moves that would violate the Swedish constitution and laws, such as expelling people without legal cause.

01/09/2023

10/18/2022

Kristersson eliminates cabinet-level post of Minister of Environment, creating Minister of Climate and Environment who will report to the Minister for Energy, Business, and Industry.

10/17/2022

Parliament elects conservative leader of the Moderate Party, Ulf Kristersson, as prime minister, the first Swedish government to be supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats. Kristersson’s coalition includes that party, his party, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals.

10/17/2022

Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party is formally elected prime minister. The Sweden Democrats are part of the government but gave up cabinet seats but will have a voice in policies. Kristersson said the government will focus on cutting taxes, capping benefits, tightening immigration rules, and giving police more powers.

09/14/2022

Conservatives win government

In the final results of the election, the conservative coalition of the Moderate, the Christian Democrat, the Sweden Democrat, and the Liberal parties win 176 seats. The coalition of the Social Democrats, the Left, the Centre, and the Green parties win 173. The far-right, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrat party wins 17.5% of the vote, but the Moderate Party is the largest in the coalition, with 19.8%. The Social Democrats remain the largest single party, with 28% of the vote.

09/12/2022

In an extremely close election, with 95% of the vote counted, the conservative coalition led by the Moderates, led by Ulf Kristersson, seems likely to win 175 seats to the more liberal coalition of the ruling Social Democrats, who seem on track to win 174 seats in the 349-seat parliament, the Riksdag. The very right-wing Sweden Democrat party wins its largest share, about 21% of the vote. The Social Democrats remain with largest single party, with about 30% of the vote. There are still mail-in and absentee ballots to be counted.

09/11/2022

In parliamentary elections today, the Social Democrats and allies are holding a very slim lead over the rightist coalition. Primary issues int he campaign have been rising energy prices and a surge in gang violence, which the right suggests is caused by the substantial immigrant population.

06/28/2022

After meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinsto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Turkey’s President Erdogan drops his opposition to those countries joining NATO. Turkey says that the countries will expel Kurds, but Sweden and Finland say they only agreed to examine the Kurds Turkey has named.

06/07/2022

No-confidence vote on Justice Minister Morgan Johansson, brought by far-right Sweden Democratic Party, who accuse him of failing to stem rising gang violence. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has said that that she would resign if a no-confidence vote passes, saying all government decisions are made collectively. Other parties had aligned themselves with the Democrat Party to the extent that the coalition was one vote shy of winning the vote. The government averts a crisis by convincing Amineh Kakabaveh, an MP of Iranian-Kurdish heritage to vote against the no-confidence vote, by assuring her that the government would not compromise to Turkey’s demands about support for the Kurds in Turkey and Syria.

05/29/2022

Turkey continues to balk at admitting Sweden and Finland to NATO, saying it should not admit countries that support terroristic groups.

05/25/2022

Sweden and Finland hold discussions with Turkey over their NATO application.

05/18/2022

Finland and Sweden both formally apply to join NATO.

05/16/2022

Putin says that Sweden and Finland joining NATO are not a concern as long as NATO troops are not stationed in these countries.

05/15/2022

Government to apply to NATO

Ruling Social Democratic party drops its opposition to joining NATO. The government is expected to apply in the coming week.

05/14/2022

Turkish government spokesmen say that Turkey has not decided to bar Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, but that those countries support of Kurdish rebels is “unacceptable.”

05/14/2022

Turkish government spokesmen say that Turkey has not decided to bar Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, but that those countries support of Kurdish rebels is “unacceptable.”

05/13/2022

Turkey says it does not support Finland and Sweden joining NATO. New members must be approved unanimously.

05/13/2022

Turkey says it does not support Finland and Sweden joining NATO. New members must be approved unanimously.

05/11/2022

UK signs security agreements with Sweden and Finland to aid either country if it is attacked.

04/26/2022

Russia warns other countries from becoming involved in its invasion of Ukraine. With Scandinavian countries likely to apply to join NATO, Putin also warns of consequences. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov recently warned of possibility of the use of nuclear arms. There are concerns about Russia cutting off gas and oil from Europe, which shakes financial markets around the world. However, most of these warnings either lack specificity or any gain in advantage for Russia.

04/14/2022

As both Sweden and Finland debate applying to NATO in their legislatures, Russian prime minister Medvedev says that if they join the alliance, Russia would move nuclear weapons to the Baltic region.

02/27/2022

With the invasion of Ukraine going badly, Putin puts his defensive nuclear weapons on alert, accusing NATO of threatening moves, which he seems to have invented. There is increasing support to Ukraine by countries in Europe. Germany doubles its military defense budget, breaking decades of traditional reluctance to arm, and authorizes military weapons and other aid to Ukraine. Sweden moves beyond its usual non-aligned position to provide military aid to Ukraine. European nations and many others deny Russia access to their airspace for any flights. Several commercial flights are forced to return to Russia by circuitous routes. China advocates negotiations to end the war. Russia is increasingly isolated in the world, but that also increases fears that Putin, who is not acting in Russia’s best interests, will respond even more aggressively.

11/29/2021

Andersson is reelected prime minister. Her government will be a minority government of just the Social Democrats.

11/29/2021

Andersson is reelected prime minister. Her government will be a minority government of just the Social Democrats.

11/25/2021

Magdalena Andersson, first female prime minister, resigns after her budget is rejected by parliament and a budget proposed by the opposition led by the populist Sweden Democrats party passes. The Green Party quits the short-lived (seven hours) government coalition as a result, provoking its fall.

11/10/2021

Lofven resigns as planned, clearing the way for Magdalena Andersson, who was elected head of the Social Democratic Party last week, to become prime minister if she is elected by parliament next week. She would be the first female prime minister. The party has low approval polling ahead of the election next year. She has gained the support of the Center Party in return for promises about forestry and building regulation, but she must at least avoid antagonizing the former communist party, the Left Party, which has demanded influence on policy. If she agrees to that she may lose the support of the Center Party. She does not need to win a majority but cannot lose by a majority.

08/22/2021

Löfven says he will step down in November in order to give his successor time to prepare for the 9/22 elections. HE will also step down as leader of the Social Democrats.

07/07/2021

Löfven reelected

Löfven is reelected prime minister by a one-vote margin in the Riksdag, 176 to 173.

06/28/2021

Löfven resigns

Löfven resigns and asks speaker of parliament to assign someone to form a new government. He said that new elections were not the right path during the COVID-19 pandemic.

06/20/2021

Löfven’s government loses no-confidence vote. The Left Party had withdrawn their support over a rent control bill. Sweden is in the midst of a housing crisis and real estate prices are skyrocketing in the country. Löfven can either step down, leading to new elections, or call new snap elections.

11/16/2020

Sweden increases restrictions on public gathering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government had long depended on voluntary safety measures, unlike most other countries, but the renewed surge in Europe has taken its disease incidents to the highest level so far. Sweden now has about 177,000 cases and nearly 6200 deaths.

06/03/2020

Head of COVID-19 task force says that Sweden’s approach could have been improved. Sweden has 41,000 cases and 4500 deaths.

05/18/2020

One of the very few countries to attempt to maintain generally normal movement of people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with restrictions on wearing masks and physical distancing, Sweden has more than 30,000 cases and 3500 deaths. In April, the country recorded the highest number of deaths in its history.

01/23/2020

Supreme Court recognizes the right of indigenous Sami people to control hunting and fishing in their territory, which includes the town of Girjas, which brought the suit.

11/14/2018

Parliament rejects Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson’s proposed minority government. The Center Party and the Liberal Party continued to reject any government that includes the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party. If no government is formed after three more votes fail, a new election must be held. A snap election could be called, but only the Sweden Democrats and the Center Party have enough funding to compete in an election.

09/25/2018

Löfven loses vote of confidence, which is mandatory after an election. The speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, will call on Alliance opposition leader, Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson, to form a government. Of the 349 seats in parliament, Löfven’s Social Democrats won 144 seats and the Alliance bloc 143. The Sweden Democrats won 62 seats. The Center Party and the Liberal Party, members of the Alliance, refuse to negotiate with the Sweden Democrats. Norlen can offer up to four candidates for prime minister, and if all fail, new elections must be called.

09/10/2018

Prime Minister Stefan Lôfgren’s Social Democrats win about 40.6% of the vote and the more conservative coalition about 40.3%. The far-right Sweden Democrats win 17.6%, a high water mark for them, but they seem to be frozen out of forming a government.

08/25/2018

Anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats (SD) Party, led by Jimmie Akkesson, is polling well for election 9/20. They could win about 20% of the vote, making them the second- or third-largest party in parliament. PM Stefan Lofven’s Social Democrats are expected to remain the largest single party, though with reduced representation. The conservative Moderate Party, led by Ulf Kristersson, is polling about equal to SD.