Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STOCKHOLM459
2009-07-24 06:31:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Stockholm
Cable title:  

Media Reaction - Consulate closures

Tags:  OPRC KMDR KPAO PINS PHUM PINR PREF EUN SW 
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VZCZCXYZ0013
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSM #0459 2050631
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 240631Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4561
UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000459

SIPDIS

SECSTATE FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/PPD, EUR/NB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PINS PHUM PINR PREF EUN SW
SUBJECT: Media Reaction - Consulate closures

On July 24, the independent Stockholm morning daily "Dagens Nyheter"
in its main editorial opined on the Swedish Government's
announcement that it is closing four Consulate-Generals and one
Embassy under the headline 'Embarrassing for Sweden':

"Until the turn of the year, Sweden leads the work within the
European Union. During this time, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt will be representing the EU
internationally. The Government is hoping that Sweden will be
perceived as an engaging and credible nation in foreign policy.
That PR-message does not fit with the decisions made in Stockholm.
Yesterday it became clear that the Government is closing its
Consulate-Generals in New York, Los Angeles, Canton and Kaliningrad.
In addition, the Embassy in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo will
be closed - last summer the Embassy in Manila met the same fate....

"One of Sweden's main acts during the EU Presidency is to increase
Baltic Sea cooperation. Yet, the Government has in a short space of
time, closed the Hamburg and Gdansk consulates. Now Kaliningrad is
on the list....

"Even more strange is the announcement about Sweden's representation
in the United States. The Consulate-Generals in New York and Los
Angeles have been of great benefit for relatively little money
through the years. Apart from handling extensive amounts of
passports, visas and other permits, these institutions have marketed
Sweden in two of the world's metropolises....

"Considering the size of the United Sates, a strengthened presence
would have been expected, for example, in Chicago and Houston. Now
the Government is doing the opposite and imagines that an Embassy in
Washington will be able to handle everything between California and
New York with the aid of some EU states. If one may say so, it is
both a naive and stupid expectation....

"Why Sweden should have to make the same mistake is difficult to
understand [referring to Denmark's closing of embassies in the
1980's] but symptomatic for Carl Bildt's view of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Administration. Ever since Bildt became Foreign
Minister, he has shown an absent-minded interest in the MFA's
activities. Bildt is noticeably absent and carries out internal
information and foreign policy via his blog, which is sometimes
reflected in his statements, such as when he compared the Russian
invasion of Georgia to Nazi-Germany's invasion of
Czechoslovakia....

"The discontent at the ministry is widespread and growing. It is
disdainfully said that Bildt is carrying out a semi-private foreign
policy, the primary aim of which is to secure a nice international
job for himself....

"If Sweden is not going to have presence with a consulate in
Manhattan in New York, you have to ask why we should be present in
the world at all."
SILVERMAN