Sweden embraces Hamas…for now

Last week, I wrote about the surprisingly overheated political situation in northern Europe (here). Now comes word that the Swedes have joined their Norwegian cousins in welcoming Hamas members to their country. It’s unclear what the purpose of the visit is; no one is saying.

But the position of the Swedes is clear: Israel is anathema. The Swedish government has pulled Swedish troops out of joint European military exercises…because Israel will also participate.

This is an election year in Sweden. Will the Swedes oust their Social Democratic prime minister in September? As of April 22,

Reinfeldt, the head of the conservative Moderate party and the prime minister candidate for the four-party centre-right alliance, was the preferred choice of 38 percent of Swedes, the Demoskop poll published in daily Expressen showed.

Just 33 percent of the 1,000 people questioned April 11-18 said they wanted to see Persson, a Social Democrat, stay on in power. Persson has served as prime minister since 1996.