Sweden’s ruling party plans Nato entry bid by June

Bloomberg

Sweden’s ruling party, the Social Democrats, have decided to support a Nato entry bid by June, newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported, citing party sources it didn’t identify.
The Social Democrats led by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson have long been a holdout in the debate on whether Sweden should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), officially opposing an entry and arguing that any application should have full or very large support in the parliament.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February pushed a potential Nato membership to the top of the agenda in Sweden and neighbouring Finland. Russia has repeatedly warned both with potential consequences.
While support for a bid by the Social Democrats would secure majority backing for the bid in parliament, Andersson has indicated any application could require a 3/4 backing in the legislature, meaning other parties’ stances also bear weight. The largest opposition party, Moderates, have said they will campaign on that platform ahead of the general election in September and should they win, plan to file an application to join.
The Swedish Nato debate is closely tied to a parallel process in Finland, where political support for an application has also surged following Russia’s invasion. Finland’s government on Wednesday was expected to unveil a white paper, which is likely to kick off an official process to join the alliance later this year.
Andersson’s Social Democrats and several other parties in the parliament have argued Sweden shouldn’t join Nato before or without its Nordic neighbor Finland, as the two countries currently have a very tight defensive cooperation.