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The World in 2030: Five questions for Mikael Jansson, former leader of the Sweden Democrats

Published 17 May 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Mikael Jansson was the former leader of the Sweden Democrats and is a veteran of Nordic opposition politics.

Washington Post recently stated what media outside of the West have been saying for quite some time the influence of the United States is declining, and the world is becoming increasingly multipolar. TNT reached out and asked Mikael Jansson, former leader of the Sweden Democrats, five questions about the future and development in the world.

What will the world look like in 2030?

– Everything indicates that the world will be multipolar in 2030. I think that the future of the BRICS countries is quite easy to predict, but it is more difficult to do for the Western world. We don’t know if the US will continue to strive for unipolarity. When you look at these different blocs, I believe more countries will join BRICS and that they will be quite successful with their collaboration and trade.

The dollar will lose its role as a reserve currency, that is quite clear.

Militarily, it seems that China will become as strong as the US, or maybe even stronger.

The US military has probably rested on its laurels and has not developed its potential. Their systems are quite old.

There will be a very large military buildup in many countries – not least among the great powers.

The war in Ukraine?

– This was not a war that Russia wanted. They did not want to see Ukraine in NATO. They defend Crimea and they defend the population in Donbass. I don’t think the US cares that much about Ukraine, the war is very much about wearing down Russia.

These sanctions against Russia have not worked as initially thought, that is to get Russia down on its knees. This outcome has probably surprised many.

Russia apparently prepared this together with China and it feels like things are going according to plan, for them.

It may be that China agreed that Russia could cross the border to Ukraine. Without China’s support, this would otherwise have been a huge risk.

There are international rules and sometimes they are broken: NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia… the US military presence in Syria… Russia’s presence in Ukraine.

How serious is the threat from the Russian Federation against Sweden and the Nordic region?

– Most people seem to think that the most dangerous threat is for Russia to expand westward and take several countries in a western direction. This is based on a flawed analysis because they have no military power built to occupy countries.

In modern times, this does not work very well. Occupying a country with a hostile population is very expensive. Notwithstanding this, the risk for a Russian invasion do exist for militarily and strategically important spots and where there is a Russian population, such as in the Baltic states – where a situation similar to Ukraine could arise.

The threat that I see as much more dangerous, now that Sweden and Finland are joining NATO, is that there will be a very strong military buildup and that the members will become front states equipped with American systems. Putin has said that he does not see Sweden and Finland as a threat, not even when NATO members – as long as they do not allow the US and UK to set up military installations on their territories.

I can see the US bringing in installations into Sweden and Finland and the Russians responding to that, and then the debate in Sweden will [only] be that we need to respond to the Russian buildup – I see this as a very big risk, but also the risk of war by mistake.

Sweden’s and Finland’s membership in NATO?

– I’m only against Swedish and Finnish membership. NATO is the balance against Russia. I’m not against NATO. I’m not against Russia. We used to have a system which worked and where it was known that Finland and Sweden were non-aggressive.

The risk of a major war between Russia and the West?

– I assess that neither the US nor Russia wants a nuclear war, but the risk increase with these new faster weapon systems. Another risk is that Ukraine, for example, would use some kind of medium-range missile to hit an important target in Russia.

The use of tactical nuclear weapons can lead to escalation.

Some say it doesn’t matter which president the US chooses, but to me, Biden and Trump represent a very big difference.

The US has caused a lot of trouble in its pursuit of unipolarity…it always threatens other countries…it’s ongoing.

The West has a lot of problems. You see it in the US and France – there is blood on the streets.

It feels like this [US] administration is continuing in the same direction and trying even harder. There are political scientists in the US who believe that the US would thrive in a multipolar world. It is very expensive to keep the military relationships going. … They probably have no choice because I don’t think they will be able to counteract the multipolar world.

 

The Nordic Times

Mikael Jansson was the party leader of the Sweden Democrats between 1995-2005. He was later elected to the Swedish Parliament and was a member of the Defence Committee between 2010-2018. In April 2018, Jansson left the Sweden Democrats and joined the smaller breakaway party Alternative for Sweden.

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Swedish government replaces US aid with millions for Soros-funded media

Published today 12:40
– By Editorial Staff
Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson together with Minister for International Development Cooperation Benjamin Dousa (M).

Swedish taxpayers will now have to cover the funding shortfall that arose when the US withdrew its aid to the international journalism group OCCRP – Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

The government has announced that it will provide SEK 70 million (€6.4 million) in new support to the network, which was previously funded largely by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and has also received millions from George Soros’ notorious Open Society Foundations and the CIA-linked National Endowment for Democracy.

The Swedish aid is officially justified by the desire to “strengthen freedom of expression and democracy” in repressive environments. Critics, however, argue that the initiative is completely irrelevant to Swedish taxpayers and that the support is rather an expression of the Swedish government’s ideological and geopolitical loyalties

– Strengthening freedom of expression and democracy is an important part of the government’s reform agenda for aid. Support for OCCRP is part of this work, asserts Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Benjamin Dousa (M) in a press release.

The OCCRP, which describes itself as a network for investigative journalism, is particularly active in Eastern Europe, especially in Ukraine. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the organization’s work has contributed to the development of analysis and background information for Western sanctions against Russia. When US aid via USAID was suspended according to previous information, amounting to over a third of the OCCRP’s total budget—the organization’s activities were hit hard.

Now Sweden is stepping in to cover a large part of the shortfall. The government’s press release states that it wants to “continue to support human rights and democratic forces such as independent media in vulnerable environments as a central part of Sweden’s long-term democracy support”, especially in countries that are “constantly exposed to Russian disinformation campaigns and other attempts to influence”.

Destabilization and propaganda

However, the fact that Swedish tax money is now replacing US cuts in support for a globally active NGO with clear links to George Soros and American influence campaigns has led to criticism and questions about the priorities of Swedish aid policy and has been highlighted by establishment-critical media.

The criticism is not just about the amount. OCCRP’s close ties to both the US propaganda apparatus and Soros’ Open Society Foundations have led several observers to question its impartiality. The organization has received significant sums from, among others, USAID, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and other US government agencies with stated foreign policy ambitions.

Both the Soros networks and the US intelligence services have also been accused of systematically using propaganda media to destabilize countries, reduce public confidence in political leaders they want to remove, and try to lobby for systemic change in a more globalist and US-friendly direction.

Billions for “democracy and human rights”

Support for the OCCRP is no exception, but part of a larger trend. According to the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ own figures, Sweden is currently the world’s third largest donor of aid to foreign “free and independent media”. In total, support for “democracy and human rights” amounted to SEK 6.6 billion (€600 million) in 2024 – equivalent to a quarter of Sweden’s entire foreign aid budget. In addition, there is further Swedish tax money distributed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs – often to organizations with links to the UN

In the same year, the government also decided to increase funding for other related organizations, such as the European Endowment for Democracy and the Prague Civil Society Center. The former’s support increased from SEK 20 million (€1.8 million) to SEK 35 million (€3.2 million), while the latter’s was doubled.

Although politicians are keen to point out the importance of promoting press freedom in allegedly authoritarian states, critics argue that it is highly questionable whether Swedish taxpayers’ money should be used to finance this type of politically charged activity far beyond Sweden’s borders – and further question how it will be possible to determine in retrospect whether the initiative has produced the desired results.

Criminal networks plunder Sweden – Economic Crime Authority warns of collapse

organized crime

Published today 9:50
– By Editorial Staff
According to Jermsten, "the basic functions of society" are now threatened by the rise of organized crime.

Organized economic crime is growing rapidly in Sweden. According to the Swedish Economic Crime Authority’s new Director General Rikard Jermsten, the criminal economy amounts to more than SEK 150 billion (€13,5 billion) every year, and is today considered a systemic threat.

– It’s worse than I thought. We as a society are financing the crime that we are supposed to fight, he says.

In its latest situation report, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority describes a development where crimes are becoming increasingly complex and extensive and where profits are increasing sharply. Money laundering through advanced corporate arrangements is identified as a central part of the gang criminal economy.

– In the past, the criminal profits in our investigations could amount to tens of millions of SEK. Today, we see profits well over 100 million in individual cases, explains Jermsten.

Particularly at risk are welfare systems, where criminal networks plunder public resources through fake companies, scam invoices and identity theft. But banks, pension systems and large construction and infrastructure projects have also become targets for organized crime.

“Threatening the basic functions of society”

The often quoted figure  that the criminal economy in Sweden has a turnover of SEK 150 billion (€13,5 billion) is probably underestimated, according to Jermsten.

Economic crime is growing in scope and threatens the basic functions of society. It undermines trust in the state, weakens public finances and damages welfare systems“, the agency states in its report.

Jermsten describes the consequences as twofold: on the one hand, society loses tax revenue that would have gone to health, education and social care  and on the other hand, the money is used instead to finance other crime. If crime becomes too widespread, he also believes that honest citizens will be less willing to pay taxes.

– When criminals steal tax money from the state, we all lose out. At the same time, competition in the business world is distorted, with serious long-term consequences.

No quick fixes

There are no quick fixes, according to the agency. But to strengthen resilience, it wants to see several measures: making it harder to start or take over companies for criminal purposes, easier to control company representatives, and harder to exploit other people’s identities.

Public procurement must also be tightened up to keep organised crime out, and the supervisory authorities’ control functions need to be strengthened. The Economic Crime Authority also proposes tougher penalties for economic crime in general.

– The development is going in the wrong direction. The whole of society now needs to build up its resilience, says Rikard Jermsten.

Norway’s Progress Party voted yes to surrogacy – despite the party leader’s opposition

Published yesterday 14:26
– By Editorial Staff
Critics have long warned that legalizing surrogacy could lead to the commercialization and exploitation of women.

The Norwegian Progress Party (FRP) has decided to work for the legalization of surrogacy in Norway during the next parliamentary term. The decision was taken by a clear majority at the party’s national convention this weekend, marking a clear departure from party leader Sylvi Listhaug’s line.

This means that the FRP goes even further than the liberal party Venstre, which in the spring supported only non-commercial and strictly regulated surrogacy.

Ahead of the vote, Listhaug clearly distanced herself from the proposal and urged party members to vote no. She warned that the decision risks having far-reaching negative consequences for how we view children and childbirth.

– I believe the decision opens the door to something more – it opens the door to receiving payment. And then I think we’re going down the wrong path, said Listhaug.

Among the proponents was Julianne Ofstad, deputy chair of the Oslo city council. She sees legalization as a way to help more people have children safely:

– By allowing surrogacy, we can ensure that it takes place in an orderly manner here at home, instead of only being possible for those who can travel abroad and pay for it themselves, she told NRK.

Criticized from various quarters

Opponents of surrogacy have long warned that legalization could lead to the commercialization and exploitation of women, especially those in vulnerable economic situations. Feminists also highlight the risk that women’s bodies could be reduced to a means of procuring children for others.

Ethical objections also concern lack of consent, power imbalances and the child’s right to its origin, and some argue that legalization in Norway risks contributing to the normalization of a global market for surrogacy.

Even in conservative circles, many oppose surrogacy emphasizing that it violates traditional family ideals and the human view that children should not be “ordered like goods”.

Critics also argue that surrogacy undermines the relationship between mother and child, creating unclear family ties and a world where children become a right for adults rather than individuals with rights of their own.

Swedish mother cracks egg on daughter’s forehead during livestream – convicted of harassment

Published 3 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to the woman, it's fun to "prank" her child on social media.

Following every bizarre trend on TikTok without thinking first is not recommended – something a 24-year-old mother from Helsingborg can now attest to.

She thought it would be a funny idea to crack an egg on her five-year-old daughter’s forehead during a livestream – but the district court disagrees, and has instead convicted the woman of harassment.

It was last summer when the young mother, aspiring to become an influencer, started a livestream on her social media while she and her daughter were sitting at the kitchen table baking apple pie.

Suddenly, the mother picked up an egg and cracked it against her daughter’s forehead, causing the yolk to run down her face. The daughter expressed that it hurt and asked her laughing mother to stop.

At the time, the 24-year-old’s account was public, and the clip eventually gained around 100,000 views. After an anonymous tip, police began investigating the incident, and now the Helsingborg District Court has concluded that the woman’s actions were unlawful.

– When I saw the video, I thought: you simply don’t do that to a child. To record and humiliate the child and then broadcast it to thousands of viewers – I find that incredibly degrading, and that’s my personal opinion, prosecutor Cecilia Andersson told Sydsvenskan.

– It’s a little girl who thinks she’s going to bake an apple cake with her mom and is happy and excited about it and then all of a sudden she gets an egg cracked in her forehead. This is a reckless act, the prosecutor further argues in the state television SVT.

“We see the phenomenon increasing”

The mother admits that the incident occurred – but denies having committed any crime. She defended herself by saying she was merely following a TikTok trend and that it’s fun to “prank” your child.

– She has herself said that this is a trend on social media, that she saw it on TikTok, and that this has been a common prank people have done.

Ängla Pändel, chair of the Institute for Law and the Internet, says that up until now, it hasn’t been very common for cases like this where parents humiliate their children on social media to go as far as the courts. But she believes that will become significantly more common in the future.

– We see the phenomenon increasing, so I definitely think we will see more cases in the future.

The woman’s sentence is a fine of SEK 20,000 (€1,800) payable to her daughter.

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