The leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Akesson, has described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an “Islamist dictator”. In a newspaper interview published on Wednesday, Akesson said on the dispute over Sweden’s NATO membership application that there are limits to Sweden’s concessions towards Turkey – because “ultimately it is an anti-democratic system and a dictator that we are dealing with “.
Akesson’s comments could add to the strained relations between Sweden and Turkey. The Sweden Democrats are not part of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s centre-right government, which has been in office since mid-October. However, since the governing coalition does not have a majority in parliament, it is dependent on the support of the right-wing extremists.
Akesson also said in the interview with the newspaper “Dagens Nyheter” that his Sweden Democrats are an “anti-Islamic party”. He represents “strict views on an Islamist dictator like Erdogan”. Although the Turkish head of state was elected by the people, this is also the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A protest action in Stockholm last week caused further displeasure from the Turkish government. An Erdogan doll was hung upside down near the city hall of the Swedish capital. Ankara then summoned the Swedish ambassador and canceled a planned visit by the Swedish parliament speaker Andreas Norlén to the Turkish capital.
Turkey and Hungary are the only two NATO countries that have not yet cleared the way for Sweden to join NATO. As a prerequisite for its approval of Sweden’s application for membership, Ankara is demanding, among other things, that Stockholm take a tougher stance against Kurdish activists, whom the Turkish government regards as “terrorists”. (Tsp with AFP)
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