Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has rejected demands from far-left groups to take down statues of allegedly controversial historical figures following several Black Lives Matter protests across Sweden.
Prime Minister Löfven addressed demands from activists to remove statues of famous Swedes such as the 18th-century scientist Carl von Linné who has been accused of classifying people into groups and giving them values based upon their skin colour.
The Swedish government leader said he did not believe in taking statues down, telling the newspaper Expressen: “We have a history. Should we begin every hundred years to think about which statues or other monuments should be demolished because we now see things in a different light?”
“I think you can have perceptions about different people, but that should we start to look at what statues we should remove? No, I don’t believe in it,” he added.
Many opposition leaders have also criticised Löfven for his government’s handling of the Wuhan coronavirus as Sweden passed 5,000 deaths from the disease this week.
“I have said very clearly that we should have tested more and that unfortunately there are too many who die at our elderly homes. It is not because we have chosen the wrong strategy,” he said.
Other Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark, Norway, and Finland, all engaged in more restrictive lockdown measures and are now opening their borders to each other but not to Sweden.
“All countries have to make their decision and the governments make their decision based on what they think is best, but I can also see that it may seem a little strange,” Löfven said.
He added: “We must safeguard that cooperation. But of course, I have to respect what other countries decide.”
The Swedish prime minister is not the only European leader to reject taking down historical statues.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated clearly over the weekend that he rejected any attempts to remove the statues of French historical figures, saying: “The republic will not erase any trace, or any name, from its history … it will not take down any statue.”
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