Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson has criticized Left Party's Nooshi Dadgostar, calling her Donald Trump's 'useful idiot' due to the party's opposition to NATO and the DCA agreement with the US. The Left Party wants to terminate the agreement immediately and hold a referendum on NATO membership. The criticism centers on how the Left's stance, according to Mohamsson, confirms the US right-wing's fears about Europe's security policy.
In a sharp attack on the Left Party, Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson has condemned the party's security policy stance. She accuses Nooshi Dadgostar of being 'Trump's useful idiot' by opposing NATO membership and the DCA agreement, which grants US military access to 17 Swedish bases.
The Left Party voted against Swedish NATO accession and now advocates a referendum on withdrawal. The party also demands the DCA agreement be terminated 'immediately', citing US actions in Venezuela and Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric on Greenland, according to a debate article by foreign policy spokesperson Håkan Svenneling.
Mohamsson argues that the Left's position confirms the image within the US right-wing that Europe does not take security seriously. 'While the rest of Swedish public debate is about how we build more security together with others, the Left Party chooses to confirm Americans' fears. It is not putting Sweden's security first', she says.
She instead advocates more defense spending, deeper EU cooperation, and an EU defense union. On skepticism toward Trump, Mohamsson responds: 'There is no doubt that we fully support our Greenlandic and Danish friends. I think it is unserious of Nooshi Dadgostar and the left to confirm Americans' fears instead of focusing on what we can do.'
The Left Party dismisses the criticism. Håkan Svenneling calls it 'completely crazy' and notes that the party warned of Trump risks beforehand but was dismissed as alarmists. 'Now he has both become president and been so for almost a year, and much of what we warned about has become reality', he says. Svenneling sees risks in basing security on a superpower like the US, where the president holds great power, and suggests Sweden, Finland, and Denmark jointly terminate their DCA agreements as a signal against the US.
