Letter: Mohamsson’s liberal “white paper” is thin gruel

Simona Mohamsson’s explanation of what the Liberals achieved through the Tidö cooperation is “thin gruel”, writes Torbjörn Larsson in a letter published by Dagens Nyheter.

Larsson says he had long waited for the party to explain what it had gained from the cooperation beyond a number of ministerial posts. In a debate article during the week, Mohamsson finally offered a justification, listing four areas that she said had made the current government “the most liberal in modern times”.

Larsson challenges that description on two grounds. First, he notes that the other Tidö parties do not describe their policies as liberal, or even call themselves bourgeois parties. The Sweden Democrats, he writes, accept only the label “blue-and-yellow”.

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The most liberal in modern times.

He also questions the importance of the measures Mohamsson listed and whether they can properly be called liberal gains. In his view, Vladimir Putin and Finland probably mattered more to Sweden’s NATO membership than the Liberals’ efforts. He adds that new nuclear power is unlikely to arrive within the next 20 years.

Larsson concludes that if the Liberals avoid being expelled from parliament for the first time in more than a century, it will largely be because of tactical votes from people who are not liberal voters. Dagens Nyheter identifies the piece as a reader letter and notes that the writer is responsible for its opinions.

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Thin gruel.