Never in her long career had Margot Wallström faced such pressure as she did in the months following the Swedish government’s recognition of Palestine on October 30, 2014. Now retired, the Social Democrat served more than a decade on the European Commission between 1999 and 2010 and then as the United Nations secretary general’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict. In 2014, she had just been appointed foreign minister in Stockholm after the left’s return to power.

At that time, 134 countries − including several European states − had already recognized Palestine, but Sweden was the first to do so after joining the European Union in 1995. While the Swedish government expected a response from Israel, Wallström had not anticipated the intensity of the attacks that were then directed at her: “My family and I received death threats, my personal security had to be increased.” She was accused of being antisemitic: “That was probably the most offensive, because my personal political commitment comes from what I learned in school about the Holocaust.”

‘Pressure from Israel’

You have 76.63% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.