Sara Kukka-Salam Advocates for Greater Immigration and Integration in Sweden

While the party leadership pushes for a strict migration policy, leading Social Democrats are calling for more immigration.

In recent weeks, the debate on migration and integration has intensified.

The Social Democrats have proposed a package of measures to reduce segregation, aiming to eliminate Sweden's 59 vulnerable areas and mix populations through housing policy reforms.

The right accuses the party of "forced mixing" and an immoral overreliance on social engineering.

In an interview with Svenska Dagbladet, Solna's municipal council chair and Social Democrat leader Sara Kukka-Salam dismisses the accusations of forced mixing.

She believes that mixed forms of housing are a good solution to segregation and plans to introduce both townhouses in the marginalized area of Hagalund and rental apartments among the condominiums in the affluent district of Frösunda in her own municipality of Solna.

More Foreign-Born Friends

However, politics cannot do everything. Sara Kukka-Salam emphasizes that each individual needs to take greater responsibility for breaking segregation. It is particularly about who you socialize with.

"If one in five friends is not foreign-born, I would say that you are not contributing to an integrated Sweden. Everyone has a responsibility. If you want to see integration, you must also be a part of it," she tells the newspaper.

According to Sara Kukka-Salam, the size of immigration has not been a problem, and at a time when more people are seeking refuge outside their home countries, she advocates for a significantly larger intake of refugees.

This is contrary to the line recently established by her own party: "a migration policy that needs to be strict for the foreseeable future."

Choosing to Exclude is Racism

According to Sara Kukka-Salam, the problems in Sweden are about integration policy.

"At least it is possible to build an integration capacity that makes it possible to receive significantly more than we do today. Now we are at historically low levels. But it is not possible unless all municipalities participate and take responsibility."

When asked what to do if one does not want to live in a multicultural environment, Kukka-Salam responds:

"We have a housing market where you can live wherever you want. But choosing to exclude your neighbors based on their last name is racism."