Nikos Papadopoulos, a prominent figure in the Greek diaspora and a member of the Swedish Parliament for the Social Democratic Party from 1994 to 2010, offered his interpretation of the narrow election victory secured by the center-left coalition led by his party. Speaking to Voice of Greece and the program “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis, he expressed confidence that the consultations, which he expects to be lengthy, will ultimately result in a stable government.
Papadopoulos noted that Sweden’s welfare state, although weaker than in the past, continues to provide protection. He added that Sweden had always kept its doors open and welcomed immigrants in order to help them, at a time when other countries, such as Finland, had imposed restrictions. However, he questioned whether this had been the right policy, in light of the rise in crime associated with irregular migrants, mainly from African countries.
Papadopoulos, who conceived the idea of establishing the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (PADEE-WHIA) and served as its first president, also discussed the role its members should play in promoting Greek views and positions in their respective national parliaments. He stressed that this often requires considerable effort, citing his own ten-year campaign for the Swedish Parliament to recognize the genocide of the Pontic Greeks, which succeeded on his tenth attempt.