S-promise on defense: Never lose control again

In a speech at the Swedish National Defense University, Magdalena Andersson makes an early election promise.

If I gain the trust of the Swedish people to form a government after the next election, I will establish a new defense policy doctrine – a fifty-year commitment to building a strong Swedish national defense, she says.

The course we have embarked on must remain firm. I am talking about a larger army, more brigades, far more conscripts being called up.

After the fall of the wall, the Swedish military and civilian defense was dismantled, and it has been a steep uphill climb to start building it up again. Andersson notes that Russia looks set to be an antagonistic neighbor for the foreseeable future, so the investment in defense cannot be temporary.

"We will never lose control again," says Magdalena Andersson.