VLAD WHO?:

Among the less-discussed points was that Nato should not admit any new members - including Sweden and Finland. This backfired in both nations, with politicians and leading officials rushing to affirm that it is their country's sovereign decision whether to join Nato and that Russia should have no say in the matter.

The previous US ambassador to Stockholm once quipped that Stockholm is "a closer partner to Nato than many members of the alliance." Although Sweden has been formally a non-aligned country since the Napoleonic Wars, it cooperates extensively with America and Nato. It has hosted large-scale Nato military exercises, for example.

The country has always generally supported the US-led world order and its security policy rests on the assumption that, should it be invaded, Nato would rescue it. Sweden is a member of the EU and Nordefco, a military alliance of Nordic countries which includes three members of Nato; thus, the assumption that any attack would trigger a cascading effect which would eventually bring the transatlantic alliance on board. For this reason, its security policy could be described as "neutral and alliance-free, but on Nato's side".

Nevertheless, there are signs that Stockholm may reconsider its position and join Nato. In 2020, the Swedish parliament approved a new security policy that created the "Nato option," i.e. an authorisation to join the alliance should the government deem it necessary, and a 40 percent increase to the defence budget. It also removed nearly all mentions of "alliance-free" from official policy statements; the current position is "not join any alliance without Finland." In 2022, parliament, now controlled by the opposition, will most likely raise defence spending even more.

More importantly, political opinion is changing. Most opposition parties, including the right-wing populists, either support the Nato option, or support joining the alliance outright -- and they could win the next election.

Equally important, polling indicates that voter support for joining Nato has more than doubled since the 90s and sits at around 30 percent.

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