Sweden has been plunged into political chaos after elections focused almost exclusively on immigration.

After the elections, the country found itself in a situation in which the two traditional political blocs do not want to cooperate, and neither bloc wants to cooperate with the Swedish Democrats, critical pariahs on immigration.

After the failure of the leader of the moderates, Ulf Kristersson, in his attempt to form a government, it is now the leader of the Center Party, Annie Lööf, who is charged by the president of the Riksdag with exploring the ground with a view to ‘a government. This could potentially make her a prime minister.

Read also : Annie Lööf is responsible for forming a government

Pressure on immigration

The Center Party and the Sweden Democrats represent the extremes of Swedish immigration policy. During the election campaign, Lööf and Jimmie Åkesson found themselves in a heated debate where Åkesson sidelined Lööf because she wanted to welcome 30 to 40 million immigrants to Sweden.

Lööf reacted as follows:

– If you had listened more to what I said, and less to sites critical of immigration, you would have heard what I said.

So what did she say?

After Lööf was tasked with researching a possible government, many media outlets began broadcasting videos of what she actually said.

Concretely, it is a Individual interview on the SVT Agenda 2011 debate program, where Lööf was interviewed by Swedish journalist Anna Hedenmo. The interview is available in several copies on YouTube, among others.

Watch the interview below – the relevant part starts at 1:20.

In the interview, the leader of the Center Party emphasizes the party’s migration program, which mentions, among other things, that the party wants Sweden to be a “country of settlers”, and that he draws parallels with the policy of Canada, among others.

– We have been a visionary and courageous party on this subject, that is to say the land of the settlers. We are saying that people who want to come here and work, but also people who are fleeing war and oppression, should be allowed to come here, work, start their own businesses, pay taxes and be able to do something themselves. I think it’s a very liberal approach that I will take, she said in the interview.

– 40 million is something you can imagine

– Today we are nine million inhabitants. How many could we be in your vision?

– It’s totally impossible to say, replies Lööf.

– Twice more?

– I think the most important thing is that we have an open mind, where we work for free movement and freedom, regardless of who you are and whatever your background is here. We will welcome people here as long as they have the opportunity to support themselves or run a business.

– In their pension policy program, a parallel is made with Canada, converted to Swedish conditions, this would mean that Sweden would have 40 million inhabitants, these are the figures you cite yourself. Is it possible ?

– No, it is not realistic in a shorter term perspective.

– But in a longer term perspective?

Lööf points out that this is something that can be achieved if we follow Canada’s example, which allows immigrants to work from day one.

– So you imagine there were so many others?

– Yes, absolutely, as long as you can meet your needs and integrate, I see no problem.

What is happening to the Swedes?

– What happens to the Swedes then? Swedish culture? The Swedish language?

– This is extremely important. We speak Swedish. People who come here speak Swedish.

– But what about the Swedish indigenous population, if you can call it that, which numbers only nine million?

– I strongly distance myself from this description. The nine million who are here are both native Swedes, there is my grandmother who was born in Canada, there are my classmates who grew up in the Balkans, in Germany, in China and in Africa . There are many Swedish citizens who live here who I am very proud to call Swedish, says Lööf.

The Canadian model

Canada, due to its unique geographic position, bordering the United States, an immigration policy that is both significantly more liberal and stricter depending on what you look at.

The country has virtually no unregulated immigration, but it is the country that accepts the most quota refugees through the UN. Canada is known for selecting those it believes have the greatest chance of success in integration, not those with the greatest need for protection.

In addition, they have a special system through which refugees can find local sponsors who bring them to the country and monitor them.