Sweden has always been known as a friendly, nice and peaceful country. It has not had connection to NATO. It has been a neutral country if the real meaning of neutrality exists at all. Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta are not NATO members neither.
Since February 24 when Russia started their special military operation NATO has done everything to affect Swedish opinion about possible membership in the alliance. But we can still discuss if the membership in this alliance is necessary.
Does Sweden have to be afraid of Russia? Will it be attacked? Actually, not all people believe in this story about Russian attack. Sweden does not look like a potential goal.
On the other side there are people who believe that Russia is an enemy. They believe that Russia one day will attack Sweden. So the secretary general of NATO and Swedish Prime Minister took a boat tour and talked about the situation.
Now when it is clear that Sweden is on its way to become a new member we must ask ourselves: Will Sweden be happier in NATO?
According to different people in different cities, Sweden can survive without this military alliance. Sweden is a respected country and does not have to be afraid of any external enemy. It does not have any natural enemy. It has internal problems with e.g. segregation instead. NATO will not solve them.
What problems will NATO solve? Maybe they think that Russia wants to invade Sweden? Whatever they believe, they have right to believe. Will Sweden be happier in NATO if it chooses to be a member and sit in the same boat? We will get that answer in the future.