By Magnus Lund Nielsen

( EurActiv ) — The contrasting tones of two progressive Swedish leaders reflect a broader rift within Europe’s centre-left, between parties tightening migration policies to win back voters’ trust and those warning against betraying core values.

“We are way stricter on migration and on crime than we were before,” said Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Swedish Social Democrats and prime minister from 2021 to 2022, speaking at the yearly congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES), which bundles Europe’s centre-left parties.

The day before, a fellow Swede, Stefan Löfven was overwhelmingly re-elected president of the PES – without mentioning migration once in his pitch to the roughly 1,000 progressives gathered in Amsterdam for the congress.

“Progress does

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