The Swedish Social Democrats: Preach to Convert

kellermann

With a new party leader in place, the Swedish social democratic party (SAP) is once again trying to find its role in the Swedish political landscape – a landscape that has been transformed greatly over the past six years of conservative government, and arguably even more over the past three decades, of which a majority [...]

Welder new leader of the Swedish Social Democrats

Jansson

Yesterday, the Swedish Social Democrats’ party secretary, Carin Jämtin held a brief press conference where she announced that the party’s executive committee would submit a proposal on an acting party leader to the party board meeting on Friday. The former party leader, Håkan Juholt resigned on Saturday. According to Västerbottens Folkblad sources, the president of the trade [...]

Juholt resigns as leader of Swedish Social Democrats

Jansson

At a brief press conference on Saturday afternoon, Håkan Juholt declared his resignation after only ten months as party leader of the Swedish Social Democrats. He was elected in a turbulent time after the disastrous election results of 2010 following which Mona Sahlin announced her resignation as party leader. Juholt’s time as party leader was [...]

Swedish Social Democrats slump in the polls

Jansson

The semi-annual party preference survey from Statistics Sweden (SCB) shows that a general election in November would give the centre-right government parties (C + FP + M + KD), 48.4 percent of the vote. The centre-left parties (S + V + MP) would get 44.6 percent. The xenophobic Sweden Democrats would get 5.7 percent. Party [...]

88 percent of Swedes against Euro membership

Jansson

Support for the Euro in Sweden is below ten percent and thereby at a historical low point. The opposite is true for the opposition to a Swedish membership in the Euro that is now reaching new highs at 88 percent. This according to an opinion poll conducted by Skop. According to the survey conducted in [...]

Yes, in my Backyard! Strengthening the European Local

Kajsa Borgnas

As the financial crisis intensifies, it is becoming increasingly clear that our deeply indebted economies need restructuring. The key focus must be on the signals prices send out to states, firms and households. Due to the dysfunctions of financial markets as well as the euro-zone’s architectural flaws unsustainable capital flows fuelled not only enormous debt [...]

The Reasons for the quiet Diplomacy?

Jansson

On July 1 two Swedish journalists, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, were arrested by the military when they tried to enter the Ethiopian province of Ogaden in order to write a story for the Swedish magazine Filter. They have since been indicted by the Ethiopian regime for terrorist crimes as they travelled with the local [...]

Swedes oppose profits in free schools

Jansson

According to a report by The National Union of Teachers in Sweden (Lärarnas riksförbund), there is  solid opposition among Swedes regarding profits being taken out of the private so-called free schools. Eight out of ten Swedes want to see this limited. Even among centre-right voters 73 percent want to see such restrictions. Among centre-left voters [...]

Privatized welfare does not lead to better efficiency

Jansson

In recent decades, the Swedish welfare has seen a major regime shift. From having comprehensive public welfare monopolies, Sweden has seen an extensive process to allow private for-profit actors into the welfare sector. Today, nearly one in five who work in the welfare sector are employed by the private sector. The welfare services have generally [...]

Build ”the green people’s home”

Jansson

Last week The Swedish National Institute of Economic Research (Konjunkturinstitutet) presented the monthly economic barometer for August. It is not an uplifting reading. It shows that both business and consumer confidence has been falling sharply over the summer and is now at its lowest level since 2009. Growth has slowed down and Sweden seems to [...]

Swedish Labour Movement Think Tank elected new Board

ats logga

At the AGM on Monday the Swedish Labour Movement Think Tank (Arbetarrörelsens tankesmedja) elected a completely new board. The board is now composed solely of women. Kerstin Alnebratt who has a PhD in Gender Studies and is director of the Swedish National Secretariat for Gender Research at the University of Gothenburg was elected president. Between 1994-2002 she [...]

Swedish Social Democratic Women elected intellectual

Untitled

On Saturday The National Federation of Social Democratic Women in Sweden (S-kvinnor) elected Lena Sommestad as its new president. Sommestad was proposed by a unanimous nominating committee earlier this summer and won against the sitting president Nalin Pekul with 64 votes against 34 at the biannual conference in Luleå in northern Sweden. Lena Sommestad became known [...]