Jimmie Akesson, the leader of Sweden Democrats, which are the current minority government’s main partners, has cautioned Sweden against going too far in what he referred to as "tightrope walking" in relations with Turkey and Stockholm's lingering NATO bid.
"You can't go too far. Because it is ultimately an anti-democratic system we are dealing with," Akesson told Swedish media.
Akesson also argued that was important for Sweden not to bend too much to Turkey’s demands and contested the idea that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a popularly elected leader, instead calling him an "Islamist dictator, more or less."
"I am party leader of the anti-Islamist Sweden Democrats and have strong views on an Islamist dictator like Erdogan," he added.
Akesson's claims come in the aftermath of the recent scandals in Swedish-Turkish relations and the Nordic country's NATO bid that hinges on Ankara’s approval. Last week, President Recep Erdogan was hanged in effigy outside Stockholm City Hall during a demonstration by supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); a cartoon contest designed specifically to mock Erdogan was launched shortly thereafter.
Swedish Prime Minister and Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson and Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom condemned the effigy protest, calling it "disgusting." Ankara, in turn, warned that relations with Sweden may become "much more strained," stressing that Sweden cannot take Turkey's support for its NATO bid for granted, as long as it continues to "ignore terrorist provocations."
In May 2022, three months into the Ukraine crisis, Finland and Sweden submitted their NATO bids, citing a shift in the security situation in Europe, abandoning what was left of their historic non-alignment. Since Turkey remains the only NATO state to voice opposition and has made numerous demands on the aspiring members, Stockholm has been at pains to satisfy them, even at the cost of drawing criticism from the opposition and human rights groups. Among others, it lifted a ban on arms exports to Ankara and renounced cooperation with Kurdish organizations it previously welcomed.
In the 2022 Swedish general election, the Sweden Democrats, previously shunned by the establishment over their nationalist views, had their best ever showing at 20.5 percent of the vote, yet were cut short of any minister posts. The party stayed outside of the government, yet retained direct influence over the minority coalition comprised of the liberal-conservative Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals.