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| Europe | |
| Swedes and Balts have declared a boycott of Trump and dream of squeezing America with sanctions | |
| 2025-03-09 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Lavrinenko [REGNUM] In Sweden, a latent hatred for Donald Trump is growing. Ordinary Swedes are ready to see in the new-old American president and his henchmen the fiends of hell who want to “abandon Ukraine and Sweden to the mercy of the eastern aggressor.” Local propaganda has built an alternative world in which their small country, like Hobbiton, is under serious threat of invasion by “orcs from the east,” and the United States is no longer ready to defend it. And in protest, the Swedes began to boycott American goods. A similar picture can be seen in the Baltic countries, which are economically dependent on Sweden – they also hate Trump for allegedly being ready to abandon them “to Moscow’s profit.” THE SMELL OF BETRAYAL Swedish media are broadcasting panic messages into the reader's brain. "US President Donald Trump called Volodymyr Zelensky a 'dictator' and accused Ukraine of a full-scale Russian invasion," Nyheterna, for example, is indignant. Trump is also accused of intending to introduce 25 percent tariffs on EU goods, including cars. For Sweden, with its powerful car industry, this will be very sensitive. In a major development for the country, the local US embassy removed a banner declaring support for Ukraine that had adorned its façade for three years. This happened immediately after Trump's meeting with Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, which ended in scandal. Former Swedish MEP Gunnar Hökmark describes his horror as he walked past the embassy and saw the banner no longer in its usual place. "This is a terrible message to the whole of Swedish society. It is clear that Trump prioritizes relations with Putin over relations with Zelensky and Europe," the former MEP said, calling the move by the US embassy "a disgrace." Former Swedish Foreign Minister and well-known Russophobe Carl Bildt said that the White House is now occupied by "a savage who repeats Vladimir Putin's words." The Swedish press writes that the government is very nervous and concerned about the current situation. Swedish citizens are asking themselves: Will Trump sell out Ukraine and can Sweden trust the US in other contexts? Will Trump take a position closer to Russia than to the EU? The anxiety, the sense of a betrayal crisis, is present not only among government officials, but literally hovers over the entire country. Swedes, a majority of whom, according to polls, oppose stopping the fighting in Ukraine, perceive Donald Trump's peacemaking initiatives as a "betrayal." However, the government has chosen a cautious strategy: to express as little direct criticism of the overseas hegemon as possible. Stockholm has invested too much effort in joining NATO and in strengthening relations with the United States and is afraid to make any sudden moves now. "We should focus on what the US is actually doing, not just what they say. They still have tough sanctions against Russia, and it is important for us to continue to damage the Russian military economy," said Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergaard. A SUDDEN AWAKENING OF HOSTILITY The Swedish authorities have taken a rather extravagant step to demonstrate their disagreement with Trump's peacekeeping initiatives. At the end of February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent out an order to foreign diplomatic missions to film a video in which embassy employees demonstrate what is presumably a protest performance. “Through a joint communications campaign, we mark the anniversary (of the start of the SVO – Ed.) and demonstrate that Sweden is united in its unwavering support for Ukraine,” says the letter sent to all Swedish embassies. The ministry instructs that in the video, diplomatic workers should first sit down and then stand up at the same time. “Stand up straight! Keep your hands at your sides and avoid happy expressions,” the relevant instruction says. The participants of the performance were ordered to choose one of three forms of arrangement of chairs: zigzag, U-shape or pyramid. Ukrainian flags had to be present in the frame, and the video itself was recommended to be filmed outdoors, avoiding the "official office environment". However, public relations experts interviewed by Expressen expressed skepticism about the idea. “I don’t think that such videos will bother Russians at all or have any significant effect,” says media expert Hampus Knutsson. While government officials hesitate, avoiding decisive action, ordinary Swedes are already taking action. A recent survey in the country showed that 78% of the population (that is, almost four out of five) are ready to join the boycott of American goods. Women are especially active in supporting this idea. Recently, more and more accounts have appeared in the Swedish social media sector that are furiously “pushing” for a boycott of American goods and services. All those who do so explain their suddenly awakened hostility towards the overseas power by the actions of the Trump administration. Niklas Sorum, an employee of the University of Gothenburg, recalls that the Swedes also boycotted goods from South Africa in protest against the apartheid policy that was being carried out by that country. Sorum emphasizes that for a boycott to be an effective means of influencing the United States, it must be as widespread as possible and take place against the backdrop of the establishment of supplies of similar goods from the “right” countries. "WE NEED TO THROW OUT AMERICAN WEAPONS" In the Baltics, which are an economic colony of Sweden, the same sentiments are observed, only more pronounced. It has reached the point that Estonian MEP Riho Terras, a former commander-in-chief of the Estonian army, called on the European Union to prepare for measures to influence the US - to "press them with sanctions" and accused Trump of "betraying" Ukraine. The local press publishes articles that suggest that Trump and his associates are destroying the sacred cause of Euro-Atlantic unity. “It is clear that they want to see the same anti-democratic forces in power in Europe, the return of which they themselves symbolize. This has, of course, been the long-term desire of their new ally, Russia,” writes, for example, Estonian public figure Eero Janson, head of the NGO Eesti Pagulasabi (Estonian Refugee Council). He is very upset with Trump because his NGO used to receive substantial funding from the American agency USAID, which it has now lost.
"Throw away your iPhones and computers. And let the Latvian army throw away American weapons, Black Hawk helicopters," one resident of Riga sneers. "Europe, I suppose, will not only not understand us, but will certainly not protect us. However, it looks like the States won't either. Everything is going down the drain," another user summed up. Those who are more sober are already calling for acceptance of the new reality. “Trump views Europe as a competitor and, perhaps, as a potential source of problems – if we are talking about a war on the territory of Ukraine – but not as a partner,” says Igor Gretsky, an expert at the Tallinn International Center for Defense and Security. According to him, Washington now perceives China as its “key strategic opponent,” and is much less concerned about what is happening in Europe. Gretsky warns that we shouldn’t perceive what is happening now in the US as some kind of “aberration,” “error,” and hope that after Trump’s natural departure, everything will return to normal: “This is a long-term trend, we need to adapt to it.” And only a very few dare to publicly advise that, in the changed conditions, the countries located around the Baltic should change roles and concepts – and move from confrontation with Russia to cooperation with it. Thus, the Latvian publicist, a well-known activist of the local Russian community, Vladimir Linderman, writes that a sharp turn of history is taking place: “Latvia as an anti-Russian “Western outpost” will become unclaimed. It is time to change the concept.” However, people like Linderman are considered "marginal". Any respectable politician who dares to repeat this thought out loud can instantly become an outcast. The elites in the countries around the Baltic cannot simply change their "DNA", hoping that the presidency of the "red-haired madman" will be outlasted, and everything will return to normal. | |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #12 I say this not joking. Some of the absolute stupidest people I have ever met are swedes. Shocking how predictable it is. |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2025-03-09 21:58 |
| #11 From a reliable source, said no one. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2025-03-09 17:41 |
| #10 And in protest, the Swedes began to boycott American goods. I'm going to stop buying Swedish Fish. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-03-09 11:13 |
| #9 #6 Whatever. |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-03-09 10:59 |
| #8 his henchmen the fiends of hell That sounds like Bagndad Bob or some serious Juche. |
| Posted by: alanc 2025-03-09 10:38 |
| #7 Message to Sweden and the Baltic States: Feel free to load your gear, saddle up your troops, and go to Ukraine and fight it out. We're not going to. I thought you people wanted the US out of your affairs. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2025-03-09 09:58 |
| #6 18th Century? More like the acquisition of Finland in 1809? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-03-09 09:48 |
| #5 ^Definitely positive: take away all the locals willing to fight. |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-03-09 05:40 |
| #4 And what do Sweden's Islamic masters have to say about all this? |
| Posted by: Muggsy Peacock6312 2025-03-09 05:31 |
| #3 Swedes still resent the beating they got from Russia in 18th century? |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-03-09 03:04 |
| #2 /\ Only if you are addicted to lutfisk. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2025-03-09 00:44 |
| #1 Remind me of the playbook, is the opinion of Sweden "relevant"? |
| Posted by: Crusader 2025-03-09 00:40 |