Are Sweden's gang wars connected to immigration?
Gang crime is escalating in Sweden, with cases of car bombs exploding or shoot-outs on the streets almost every week. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has denied any connection between the high crime rate and immigration to the country, saying that if Swedes moved into the socially disadvantaged areas the same problems would arise. The press is highly critical of this statement.
Löfven hasn't grasped what's going on
The prime minister is wrong on one crucial point, notes Göteborgs-Posten:
“Much of the current social inequality is a direct result of the fact that Sweden has taken in more people per capita from poor countries in this millennium than any other country in the West. ... The immigration of low-income earners creates social inequality, which in turn creates crime. ... And, of course, some of the young people in areas that have been neglected hate Swedish society. ... Perhaps the prime minister is surrounded by bad advisers, but it's more likely that he simply isn't able to grasp the true nature of the country's problems.”
PM should step aside
Expressen is outraged by the prime minister's statements:
“Löfven did not explain how a situation could arise in which there are suddenly hundreds of thousands of Swedes equipped with only a few years of schooling, suffering from traumatic war experiences and with very little knowledge of Swedish. The question you ask yourself in front of the TV is: if Löfven has no idea how Sweden got into this situation, if he doesn't want to take responsibility for it and has no clear plan for stopping this trend, shouldn't he make way for someone else?”