Politics in Sweden is Odd

The newly elected liberal coalition in Sweden is looking at reinstating military conscription, reversing a decision by the center-right government in 2010 to abolish the practice:

Sweden's former centre-right government scrapped compulsory military service in 2010, but the current Social Democrat-Green coalition has said it is considering reintroducing the concept.

And a new survey carried out by major pollsters Ipsos on behalf of the Dagens Nyheter newspaper suggested on Monday that 72 percent of Swedes would throw their support behind conscription.

Only 16 percent of respondents said they believed it was a bad idea.

People are also making the argument that this could provide staffing for non military needs:

………

The foreign minister told a meeting of senior politicians and military chiefs, attending the annual Sälen Society and Defense conference, that the government needs to examine all viable options to resolve present and future manpower needs and recruitment challenges faced by the Swedish armed forces.

Wallström said that a reconstructed national service model could bolster the military's capacity to not only conduct core defense tasks, but would also deliver military support to assist civilian agencies dealing with emergencies such as natural disasters, search-and-rescue missions and environmental clean-up.

This is not something that I would expect from a, "Social Democrat-Green coalition," though I approve.

I think that a draftee army is likely to be more receptive to civilian control, and less likely to go along with a coup.