Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister broke down into tears as she announced the Government’s U-turn over the refugee crisis to reduce the number of people fleeing war and persecution from seeking asylum in Sweden.
More than 190,000 refugees were expected to enter Sweden this year after the Government announced its open door policy in response to the refugee crisis.
On Tuesday, Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said this policy would be reduced to bring it in line with the EU minimum, meaning many would only be granted temporary residence permits. Mr Löfven said the country needed “respite” from accepting such a large intake of refugees. “It pains me that Sweden is no longer capable of receiving asylum seekers at the high level we do today,” he told the conference. “We simply cannot do any more.”
Åsa Romson became visibly emotional as she announced the U-turn on asylum policy at the conference.
“I’m going to be completely honest,” she told reporters. “Recently, we’ve been having difficult discussions within the party. About the perception of reality.
“In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been convinced that this is the best way to help the local green party politicians actually do something,” she went on, before bursting into tears.
In comments made later, she admitted the reversal was “a terrible decision”, but said leaving her position would have only exacerbated the situation.
