Towering over a busy roundabout in downtown Stockholm is a bronze statue of King Gustav II Adolph on his horse. Almost 400 years after Gustav II conquered northern Europe, Sweden’s foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, is shaking up the world not with weapons, but words, in an ornate yellow building just across the street. Since taking her post in October last year, the veteran Social Democratic politician has recognised the Palestinian state, denounced Saudi Arabia’s “medieval” floggings and adopted a “feminist foreign policy” that includes calling for a halt to sexual violence against women in war.
在瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩市区一处交通繁忙的环形枢纽处，矗立着骑跨骏马的瑞典国王古斯塔夫二世(King Gustav II Adolph)的青铜塑像。在古斯塔夫二世征服北欧近400年后，就在街对面那幢装饰华丽的黄色建筑里，瑞典外长玛戈特•瓦尔斯特伦(Margot Wallstrom)靠惊人之语、而不是靠挥舞武器接连不断震惊世界。自去年10月出任外长后，这位老资格的社民党政客已先后承认巴勒斯坦国，公开指责沙特的鞭笞刑罚仍停留于“中世纪”、以及奉行“女权主义的外交政策”，这其中就包括呼吁在战争中停止对女性施行性暴力。