Åkesson believes, however, that it is important for Sweden to have good relations with the future President of the USA, regardless of who it will be.
It's fortunately not me or the Swedish people who elect the President. It's the citizens of the USA who do, and we must respect their choice and build good relations with whoever is elected, he says.
Good relations
The President of the USA is often seen as the most powerful person in the world. Jimmie Åkesson, however, believes that the President is attributed more power than they actually have.
It's not just a President. There are other political institutions that have political power. There are other ministers and staff who have power. For my part, it's important that we have good relations regardless of who is elected.
Parallel societies
In his speech, Åkesson touched on what he calls parallel societies in Sweden. The SD leader looks to Denmark, which has demolished residential areas.
It's an example of how they have succeeded in Denmark. Denmark is a role model in many respects when it comes to integration. The important thing is to understand that it's not society's responsibility to make people adapt to Swedish society. We can provide the tools, opportunities, and conditions, but ultimately it's up to the individual if they want to become part of Swedish society.
So you can imagine demolishing residential areas in Sweden?
Yes, if necessary. Or rebuilding them, or whatever you can think of. The police and other authorities have deemed certain residential areas as directly unsafe and crime-promoting, and we shouldn't have that, says Åkesson.
Tougher approach
A tougher approach to gang criminals was also something the party leader brought up on several occasions. The government's investigator recently proposed a reduced sentence reduction for young people between 15 and 17 years old. Here, Åkesson wants to go even further:
If we get to decide ourselves, we'll abolish sentence reductions and quantity discounts entirely, he says.
Another recent investigation where Åkesson doesn't share the conclusion is the one on support for emigration. The investigator found that other countries that have used benefits to stimulate return migration have only had marginal results.
We are willing to try methods that other countries have tried, but also find other methods that haven't been tried, and of course learn from other countries' previous mistakes.
