Former KD leader Alf Svensson directs sharp criticism at changes in Swedish aid policy. He is disappointed that long-term projects have been dropped and the one percent target abandoned.
Alf Svensson, 87, who led the Christian Democrats for 31 years and served as aid minister in the 1990s, speaks from his home in Gränna. He believes aid has become too focused on national interests and trade.
– We have become so extremely fixated on our own nation, says Svensson, who is disappointed that KD has not managed to defend the previous aid level.
According to Svensson, several development projects in Africa have been terminated in favor of support to Ukraine. The aid budget has shrunk and the so-called one percent target has been abandoned.
He stresses that aid should be about helping people improve their conditions, such as getting clean water, rather than providing mutual economic benefit.
