Defense issues have rarely ranked high on the agenda in public opinion or election campaigns, regardless of the global situation. In 2023, this suddenly changed, with everyone, regardless of societal sector or industry, talking about total defense, in Almedalen, in seminars, roundtable discussions, and in the media, which is very pleasing to see.
However, our comprehensive total defense from the Cold War has been relegated to the same historical memory as our proud provincial regiments, brigades, and divisions. It should remain there because the conditions are now radically different.
The past doctrine of non-alignment in peace and neutrality in war, with its impact on the entire business sector's inclusion in total defense, has been so deeply established that many still consider its effects to be valid. This is not the case. This is an intellectual legacy we must immediately address.
In 2023, our authorities' missions and organizations have begun to take shape, several well-researched investigations have been presented on the matter, many proposals have been made, and many authorities can be likened to an anthill with sugar poured in, there's a lot of activity!
But where is the business sector and all our companies in this? At the end of the Cold War, Sweden went from being the most well-organized country in the world in terms of total defense to becoming the most market-liberal country in the world. We treat total defense issues in the same way as infrastructure and railway maintenance, and we can probably agree that the result is not entirely brilliant.
Society today is radically different from 30 years ago, we are globalists, EU members, and soon also a NATO country. The industrial parallel society where many companies had extensive agreements with the state for production to meet the basic needs of society and the population under conditions now covered by "force majeure" is gone. For the Swedish state, bilateral security agreements may be a relatively new phenomenon, but companies operating in Sweden have, over decades of reduced Swedish defense orders, become part of other nations' supply security and defense capability, i.e., an important part of a fine-meshed network of international security policy commitments.
We now build security together, in bilateral agreements between states, in agreements between the state and companies, and in collaborations between companies in different countries. This is how we build capability and resilience nowadays.
Therefore, all thoughts of state requisition and market-based lock-in effects as limiting export regulations must be cleared from the toolbox as we now build a new total defense, we cannot risk our own or our allies' supply by not allowing Swedish companies to fully contribute to a European capability buildup.
By the end of 2023, the Defense Commission, besides clearly stating that it is time for action in building a robust total defense, has also seriously raised the issue of the involvement of the business sector and companies, which is very good! However, this is an issue with many pitfalls, where we as representatives of Swedish companies look forward to being seriously involved as soon as possible to quickly find innovative, constructive, and sustainable solutions, we want to contribute.
How do we know that our Swedish companies want to contribute? In the spring of 2023, Combitech, with the help of Demoskop, conducted a large survey where more than 500 decision-makers at CEO and board level in Swedish companies were interviewed about their views on total defense. The response is very positive: more than 70% of those surveyed are interested and want to know more, while 77% experience a lack of clarity in information and expectations from the state. 70% who want to is very good, it means we don't need to spend energy mobilizing engagement. But we should keep in mind that this is with a pandemic fresh in memory and the war in Ukraine in sight, engagement is perishable, if we wait a year, we may have to start over with mobilizing energy again. My advice to all decision-makers: Strike while the iron is hot!
In conclusion, I want to send a message to all of you who in the coming days are going to Sälen for purposes other than skiing:
Come to terms with our history, clear away the old image of outdated doctrine and Cold War total defense, help everyone to look forward and understand the new context we live in. Public education and enlightenment are important right now, defense willingness must rest on the right knowledge.
International collaborations in the industry are as important for our supply today as domestic industry was during the Cold War, give us the best possible market conditions as soon as possible through harmonized export regulations.