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At the end of November last year, Michael Claesson, perhaps our toughest commander ever, said that we could expect a Russian NATO attack in the Baltic states or any other part of Europe at virtually any time (Politico, November 19, 2025).
He considered it likely that Russia intended to test Article 5 of the NATO Charter in the near future.
On January 13, in an interview in Svenska Dagbladet, he repeated his Article 5 warning and specified his identity. It could be an attack on isolated Swedish archipelago islands: “One could very well imagine a scenario in which Russia sets up on one or more of these islands just to see what happens.”
Remarkable to say the least Guesses (what else?). There were some headlines in other newspapers, but no significant debate. It wasn’t exactly like Agenda and SVT rearranged the tables.
The same strange silence in the media when Michael Claesson said in Ekot’s Saturday interview on February 7 that Europe needed its own nuclear deterrent now that it could no longer trust its American allies.
Nuclear weapons? In Sweden?
However, Michael Claesson is not the first to address the issue of nuclear weapons
Almost no one raised on the eyebrows. Yes, Swedish peace, of course, but otherwise a shocking intellectual silence. There was still so much to discuss. For example, a Swedish intellectual went ice skating!! Oops.
However, Michael Claesson is not the first to address the issue of nuclear weapons.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has opened up for discussion several times. As recently as the agenda of January 25 this year, he indicated that Sweden participates in all military discussions about Europe and NATO, including French proposals to possibly station some of its nuclear warheads in other European countries.
And then there was a delay It didn’t take long until Ebba Busch emerged as an echo of Kristersson and continued the raking. She is now calling for a European nuclear weapons program – in this situation she absolutely rules out the use of nuclear weapons on Swedish territory. But does it continue? You never know.
Politicians and military officials are sowing and planting thoughts and opportunities everywhere, the pattern is recognizable: we have to get used to it, we have to like the situation. The nuclear weapon mode
Politicians and military officials are sowing and planting thoughts and opportunities everywhere, the pattern is recognizable: we have to get used to it, we have to like the situation. The nuclear weapon mode.
NATO membership was overthrown in just a few months and decades of neutrality policies were abolished in the blink of an eye. There was undoubtedly great support among the population, but a thorough discussion before a decision and preferably a choice in between would definitely have been politically and democratically sensible, but no, not then.
Did Agenda, SVT’s Rapport or Aktuellt, TV4’s news or another current affairs program report on the nuclear weapons games last weekend? No.
The over-reporting of The USA, Trump and Epstein have been allowed to dominate all reporting in recent months. The deportations of young people were on the weekend’s agenda – and of course crime and punishment were also discussed.
But the nuclear question – perhaps the greatest existential political challenge of the last hundred years? Not.
One could imagine that leading Swedish media companies reacted instinctively, harshly and conspicuously
One could imagine that leading Swedish media houses reacted instinctively, harshly and conspicuously when our politicians and military officials suddenly started talking about Sweden as a European nuclear player, perhaps a nuclear weapons country.
After another The coup-like decision, the so-called DCA agreement, which gave the USA access to 17 bases and training areas in Sweden, was also kept quiet. Even as the United States, our dear close friends in the West, considers abandoning Europe, NATO – and Sweden – the question of this generosity to American bases has not been discussed. Even less re-examined.
By the way, according to the agreement, Sweden has no right to control these bases. We don’t care what kind of equipment or weapons the Americans brought here.
And as I said: the newspapers are silent. TV Tiger.
A Swedish tiger.
Further chronicles and other texts by Johan Croneman
