Halva Kristersson's letter to Trump is blacked out

Published 14 November 2024 at 17.43

Domestic. Ulf Kristersson has sent a congratulatory letter to Trump – but most of the content has been classified with reference to the fact that the information could harm Sweden, reports Aftonbladet.

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The government congratulates Donald Trump on the election victory in the USA through a letter from Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

In his letter, which was sent the day after the election, Kristersson expresses his joy at continuing the good cooperation between the USA and Sweden .

“I look forward to working with you to build on our excellent cooperation established during your first term, to advance both American and Swedish prosperity and security,” he writes.

Despite the friendly introduction, large parts of the letter have been masked with reference to Chapter 15 of the Publicity and Confidentiality Act. According to the government office, the content could affect Sweden's relations with other states if it were to become public.

“Some information in the attached document relates to Sweden's relations with another state or otherwise relates to another state or international organization. It can be assumed that it disrupts Sweden's relations between peoples or otherwise damages the country if the information is revealed,” writes the government office's press service in its justification.

It is not the first time a Swedish congratulatory letter to an American president has been masked. Stefan Löfven's letter to Trump in 2016 met the same treatment. However, Fredrik Reinfeldt's entire letter to Barack Obama was made public in 2012.

Kristersson has also announced that he is preparing for an upcoming telephone conversation with Trump. He says he wants to wait until he is well prepared to have a constructive conversation.