At the defense conference in Sälen in January, the government urged the Swedes to prepare for war.
Michael Claesson, head of the defense staff, described that the Swedish defense needs to go from a “bonsai defense†to a defense that is adapted for NATO.
– We and other countries are in pre-war times, Michael Claesson said then.
This Friday, the parties in the Riksdag put their largely unanimous proposal on how Sweden should fertilize what the general compared to a harshly chastised and shriveled dwarf tree.
Sweden has already increased spending for the military defense dramatically. They doubled over a four-year period. But the aid to Ukraine (a total of SEK 30 billion), NATO alignment and price increases for defense equipment have meant that the previous defense decision was nevertheless heavily underfunded.
Those holes are now being filled. The single most expensive investment in the proposal for a defense decision is that Sweden should increase the number of army brigades to four by 2030.
Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
In addition, the number of conscripts must increase to 12,000 per year, but not until 2032. The air defense must be expanded and rocket artillery must be purchased. In addition, the stocks of ammunition, fuel and hunting robots are to be replenished and, among other things, the navy is to receive more personnel.
But enough of the suggestions to meet the threat that the Defense Committee sees from Russia? And to fulfill old promises to, among other things, build up the civil defense?
Not really. The current government parties promised in the election campaign that Sweden would spend two percent of GDP on defense in 2025. Then they calculated in a different way, they did not include pensions and VAT in the defense expenditures, which were started in connection with the NATO accession. The election promise is not fulfilled until 2027, only then when defense spending reaches two percent with the old way of calculating.
There is concern among defense politicians that this investment is not sufficient to meet a Russia that is transitioning to a war economy. This applies in particular if there is a change of president in the United States and the Nato-critic Donald Trump returns.
It can be seen that the politicians are having doubts because they have put in a vote to be held in the second half of 2025. Then they can push for more money.
Then NATO’s asset requirements are also determined, they will further increase the demands on the Swedish defence. And it will become clear if the United States continues to stand for NATO’s military muscles, or if Donald Trump makes reality of earlier talks about taking his country out of the alliance.
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The defense committee wants to see more conscripts and four brigades
