Sweden’s new foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), emphasises the need to reduce immigration and points out that “it matters which groups come here”.
In an interview with the Bonnier newspaper DN, Sweden’s new foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), notes that Sweden has received many immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa in recent years, who generally “have a lower level of education and a different cultural background”.
– Which groups come here matters, she tells the paper
She compares this to the labour migration from Finland 50 years ago and points out that current immigration has created more significant problems such as exclusion, honour-based oppression, radicalisation and gang crime.
– In order for us to remain an open country, immigration must be reduced significantly, she says, adding that if the public perceives that politicians have lost control over immigration, it will result in demands for drastic measures.
Maria Malmer Stenergard: Sveriges nya syn på invandring i världen.
– Det spelar roll vilka grupper det är som kommer hit. Mindre problem att ta emot dem som är lika oss.https://t.co/LjGEyvwaFr
— citronpoet (@citronpoet1) September 26, 2024
Border controls a “great sadness”
She also describes her sadness about the border controls with Denmark, which were introduced during the intense wave of migration in 2015, but at the same time sees them as necessary to create order and security.
– The border controls are actually a great sadness for me. That’s why I want to create order and security in Europe so that we can maintain mobility, she says.
Ms Stenergard emphasises that the government’s migration policy is necessary to help immigrants who are already here but who have difficulty integrating into society.
She believes that reduced immigration is a prerequisite for being humane towards those who have already come to Sweden.
