Swedish parliament watchdog says government botched Palestine recognition
Legislative panel accuses PM of announcing decision prematurely, but doesn’t question the move itself
Raphael Ahren is a former diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.
Swedish lawmakers from across the political spectrum criticized the country’s government for the hasty way in which it announced its recognition of Palestine last year, saying this was done in violation of the constitution.
On Tuesday, the Riksdag’s Committee on the Constitution published its annual paper [Swedish], which lists several instances in which the center-left government of Prime Minister Stefan Loefven acted improperly, including how it recognized Palestine.
The panel, which acts as a government ombudsman, did not criticize the actual recognition of Palestine, which one member described as a political issue beyond the committee’s purview.
Rather, the report laments that Loefven declared his intention to recognize a Palestinian state before discussing the matter with parliament’s Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs or with the European Union.
On October 3, in his inaugural speech, the newly elected prime minister said that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict required mutual recognition. “Sweden will therefore recognize the State of Palestine,” he declared.
“He said it without a discussion, without any further details on how this process would start,” MP Tuve Skånberg of the center-right Christian Democrats told The Times of Israel Wednesday.
On the same day Loefven made the surprise announcement, incoming Foreign Minister Margot Wallström instructed all Swedish diplomatic missions across the globe to start referring to the Palestinian territories as “State of Palestine.”
Skånberg, who sits in the opposition, said that this move was improper as well.
“Under Swedish law, no foreign policy decision whatsoever should be determined without thorough preparation, and without going to our Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs,” said Skånberg.
The first session of the council, which is made up of lawmakers and chaired by the king, was scheduled for October 27 — three weeks after the prime minister declared his decision to recognize Palestine.
The Committee on the Constitution, of which Skånberg is a member, on Tuesday chided Loefven and Wallström for their actions on October 3, since it suggested to the world that the new government had made such a weighty decision without consulting the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs.
“It cannot be excluded that the world perceived the matter as decided by the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs meeting and that the conditions for a consultation may have deteriorated,” the Committee on the Constitution stated in its annual report. Rather than declaring the recognition as a fact, Loefven and Wallström should have made clear that there was a preparation process before the decision is finalized, the report said.
On October 30, three days after the advisory council convened, Sweden officially recognized the State of Palestine. In the three weeks between the prime minister’s initial declaration and the eventual recognition, “the world had the impression that Sweden had recognized the State of Palestine, which was not the case,” Skånberg said.
Before making a decision on the recognition of Palestine, the new government was obligated to consider the positions of Palestinians, Israelis and the EU, he said. “None of that was done. The whole preparation was a mess.”
All eight parties represented in the Riksdag shared the Committee on the Constitution’s criticism of the government’s handling of the Palestine recognition, including the ruling Social Democrats and the Greens.
However, the actual decision to recognize a Palestinian state — a move harshly criticized by Israel — is irreversible and was not criticized by the panel.
“The committee doesn’t delve into political issues,” Skånberg said, adding that its mandate is restricted to scrutinizing the government’s performance in terms of constitutional law. “There is no majority in the Swedish government for recognizing Palestine. But the decision is made and can’t be criticized… That is, I admit, a great problem.”
The Times of Israel Community.