There is no matter of telling whether the suspected submarine in the Swedish capital’s archipelago ever existed. But less than a week away from the first alarm there are major changes being plotted both in Swedish politics and economics. The possible effects include an increased Defense budget, updated arguments in the debate regarding Sweden’s joining Nato and a strengthened Saab stock.
The new Swedish government is lead by the Social Democrats aka “the Workers Party” because of their close ties to the labor unions. They announced during Tuesday, Oct. 21st, that they will most probably increase the Defense budget more than projected in light of the suspected submarine. The economic plan for the coming years is to be presented Thursday, a little more than a month after the election results. It will most probably mean a u-turn from the latest 20 years of cutbacks on the Defense budget.
This chain of events is similar to what happened in October of 1982 when the legendary Social Democratic Prime Minister Olof Palme took office. A suspected submarine was spotted in Stockholm’s archipelago. The Cold War panic gripped the Swedes instantly since a Russian submarine had run aground the year before. Consequently, the Marine got a substantial increase in their budget. However, the aftermath of the suspected submarine that was never confirmed in the 80’s include claims from Nato officers that the submarine was in fact one of theirs.
Nato debate ignited
Sweden’s joining Nato has long been debated but so far the public opinion is against it. Nonetheless Sweden is represented in more than 150 Nato committees. Now that the fear of a new Cold War has been ignited it is possible that the people change their mind.
During Tuesday the Swedish Navy’s Rear Admiral Anders Grenstad criticized that any nation would spy on another one. This is a questionable comment bearing in mind that the Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) was a key partner in the NSA global mass surveillance scandal.
Stock market heating up
One of the priorities for the new minority government of Social Democrats and Greens is to revive the Swedish industry. Before any answers have been produced from the country’s army the investors on the Swedish stock market are rushing to buy the Swedish defense and Security company Saab’s stocks. Stefan Cederberg, Stock Analyst at the Swedish bank SEB, told the financial paper Dagens industry: “Discussions in news papers, media and generally reminds us of the need of an increased Defense budget. This will innately benefit a company like Saab.”
The legacy of an unidentified object
By the end of Tuesday, October 21st, the best tips the Swedish Army have received in the submarine chase are observations from the public. More than 200 troops on various vehicles have not found a single trace of the suspected submarine that was spotted last Friday, October 17th. But before a whole week has elapsed the consequences of the suspicious object will be a definite heritage in the new government’s budget.