Green Party co-leader backtracks on nuclear power red line

Green Party co-leader Daniel Helldén has declined to repeat his earlier ultimatum that the party would not govern in a coalition building new nuclear power plants, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reports.

In a January interview with SVT’s 30 minuter programme, Helldén stated: “We cannot be part of a government that is busy building nuclear power.” The remark was widely interpreted as a non-negotiable position, but according to SVT, party members have since criticised it as a misstep.

When asked on Tuesday whether the Green Party would still treat new nuclear as a dealbreaker in potential coalition talks, Helldén avoided a direct answer. “What I said was that it is not our task to build new nuclear power,” he told SVT, calling the scenario hypothetical. “We don’t see this moving forward.”

His shift follows internal pushback, including a rebuke from the party’s youth wing, which argued Helldén lacked a mandate to set red lines on nuclear policy.

Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson distanced her party from Helldén’s stance. “I do not share his view,” she said, reaffirming her party’s support for technology-neutral energy subsidies that could include nuclear.

The Green Party remains opposed to such subsidies, with Helldén stating: “Our assessment is that this cannot be achieved.”