Before this year’s elections in Sweden, Accoun contacted the 14 largest political parties in the country, asking them questions about human rights and democracy. A report with the questions and answers has been published by us and is available at https://accoun.org/publications/
What we have found out is very disturbing in many ways:
First, only some very small parties answered our questions. None of the parties in the parlament answered a single question. And democracy does not work if those parties, which in practice can affect Swedish politics, do not answer what they stand for. This is a scandal, as we see it.
Second, we have contacted several newspapers and similar about our results, but so far it is very quiet about this scandal and the issues we bring up in the report.
Third, the risk is that issues we bring up will not be solved in a satisfactory way, when the parties and much of the media neglect or hide them.
Accoun does not provide any recommendation, which party to vote for, but we believe these topics are important for Swedish voters to be aware of.
Our concerns are not taken out of thin air. We have offered to provide background information about the issues we bring up, because we have documentation about many of the cases, but no party has asked us to send that.
Another Swedish NGO, Civil Rights Defenders, has also published a review from a rights perspective. They did receive replies from the parties in the parlament. Civil Rights Defenders’ question number 4 stands out from the rest and brings up an important topic that Accoun did not ask about. From the answers, we find out that none of the parties in the parlament support the idea of holding a referendum regarding the proposal that the government should be able to enact laws restricting rights and freedoms during peacetime crises. We here provide a translation of a part of the comment by Civil Rights Defenders:
There is strong support for a constitutional amendment that would allow the government to assume power during a peacetime crisis, yet it is striking that no parliamentary party is interested in hearing the public’s views on an issue that entails far-reaching risks regarding our rights and the concentration of power. Weakening the protection of rights in this manner clearly runs counter to the parties’ stated ambition of strengthening such protections.
Accoun’s report ahead of the 2026 Swedish elections highlights some crucial issues, such as:
The shift of power in Sweden from the Swedish people to the US. This is nowadays official, because of the DCA agreement between Sweden and the US. Parts of Sweden could already be out of full democratic control by Sweden.
Unsustainable development, including the economic development. That could, among other things, cause some people to lose faith in democracy. Many consider the trajectory of the US budget deficit and debt to be unsustainable, especially when parts of the world are moving away from using US dollar. The wars in which the US is involved are a major contributing factor, and there is a link to Sweden here. “According to the White House, European governments are standing in the way of peace in Ukraine—and the Swedish government is one of the guilty”, one can read on https://www.svd.se/a/43dE1q/usa-s-sakerhetspolitiska-strategi-sverige-bland-eu-lander-som-hindrar-en-fred-i-ukraina. And since all parties in the Swedish parlament appear to share the same stance regarding the war in Ukraine (supporting, among other things, Swedish arms shipments there), the issue extends beyond the current government. That the West/Ukraine does not seem capable of winning the war—combined with the risk of further escalation—only makes the situation increasingly unsustainable. And the US economy affects virtually the entire world, so if/when it runs into serious trouble, most of us can be affected. That the EU is following this unsustainable path and borrowing to finance war could make the economy even more unsustainable. And none of this is helping to reach environmental and social sustainability.