Latest news with #Almedalen
Local Sweden
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Almedalen special: Swedish red tape vexes Ukrainians
This week: Can northern Sweden's green transition survive the fall of Northvolt, migration bureaucracy causes headache for Ukrainian refugees, and the former US ambassador talks about how his country's relationship with Europe has changed – and what remains the same. Advertisement In this week's episode we find out all that's happening at this year's Almedalen, Sweden's annual festival of politics on the island of Gotland. The Local's James Savage rounds up the sights and sounds from this year's event as he speaks to Helena Renström at Skellefteå municipality about Northvolt and the future of the northern Sweden green transition, and former US ambassador Eric Ramanathan. Khrystyna Hevchuk, chair of Refugee Hope, an organisation that helps Ukrainian refugees in Sweden, also explains how migration bureaucracy is making life hard for them. You can listen to the episode here: Or follow Sweden in Focus wherever you listen to podcasts. Get Membership+ to listen to all The Local's podcasts Sweden in Focus Extra is a podcast for The Local's Membership+ subscribers. Sign up to Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday. Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+ Read more about Membership+ in our help centre. Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription on a podcast platform. If you prefer to listen on the site, you can find all episodes at the bottom of our podcast page.
Local Sweden
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Sweden Democrat leader 'apologises deeply' for party's history
Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson told the crowd during his speech at the Almedalen political festival that he 'apologises deeply' for his party's history, after the release of an 800-page document looking into its far-right origins. Advertisement The document, written by historian Tony Gustafsson, covers the period between the party's founding in 1988 to its entry into parliament in 2010, including its origins in nationalist movements inhabited by right-wing extremists, fascists and Nazis. Åkesson told SVT that it included "a lot of bad things" and that it was "not fun to read". "But it's nothing new that some of the founders of our party, almost over 40 years ago, had connections to more extreme movements," he told the public broadcaster, while adding that there were names included in the report that even he hadn't heard before. He also addressed the white book in his speech on Tuesday evening. "It makes me feel uncomfortable that there was actually a time when Jews in Sweden had completely rational reasons to view the Sweden Democrats of the time with concern and fear," Åkesson said, adding that the white book made it clear that there was "overt antisemitism among individual Sweden Democrats". "I deeply regret, and apologise, that my party at the time could be perceived as threatening and frightening for Jews in Sweden," he added. Advertisement Åkesson said that the party has now drawn clear boundaries against antisemitism. "The Sweden Democrats of today, especially me, have to handle what we have inherited," he said. "Take responsibility for it, if you will. And I think we have done that, handled it and taken responsibility for it. We've drawn clear boundaries and we've kept it clean." He added that he believes antisemitism in Sweden now comes from the left wing. "In the wake of the conflict in the Middle East, open antisemitism is now growing in Sweden," he said. Researcher Morgan Finnsiö from anti-racist magazine Expo argued in Dagens Nyheter (DN) that the Sweden Democrats still have issues with antisemitism in the current party. "There are many Jews in Sweden who still see their links to right-wing extremism as something frightening," he said. "In essentially every election the Sweden Democrats have stood in since their foundation, candidates have been revealed who still have links to the Swedish white power movement." Advertisement Finnsiö added that the party was mentioned in Swedish security police Säpo's reports of Swedish right-wing extremism well into the 90s ‒ years after Jimmie Åkesson joined the party. "This is something that was a part of the party's history, in its ideology and in the social environment the party recruited its members and representatives from," he told DN. "If it was just single individuals then it wouldn't have been included in Säpo's reports of crimes threatening Swedish domestic security." He also pushed back on Åkesson's claims that antisemitism is primarily a problem within the Swedish left. "We have a terror-classed Nazi group in Sweden, Nordiska motståndsrörelsen [the Nordic resistance movement], which continues to push antisemitism within the Swedish far right to a very high degree," he said. "Trying to pretend that the problem of antisemitism only exists in one corner of Swedish politics is almost absurd." Gothenburg University researcher Christer Mattsson, who has read the entire 800-page report, told SVT that it was "a genuine academic document", adding that there was information in the report that he wasn't sure would be included. Mattsson works for the university's Segerstedt Institute, which engages in preventative work against antisemitism and racist organisations, among other things. He explained that it wasn't just about the founding of the party, but also the fact that national socialism, antisemitism and race ideology all remained part of the party for several years, influencing its people, activities and institutions. "There were sediments of racial ideology, nazism and antisemitism in the early party, which were expressed by different people and affected the party's internal and external activities. It was, in other words, possible to express extreme views despite the fact that these were not anchored in the party's official stance," he told SVT. The first part of the white book was presented in 2022.
Local Sweden
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Politics in Sweden: Who is the new leader of the struggling Liberals?
Simona Mohamsson vowed to bring 'tough love' to immigration and integration politics in her first speech as party leader. Will one of her first moves be to change the Liberals' stance on the far-right Sweden Democrats, asks The Local Sweden's Editor Emma Löfgren. Advertisement We did mention Simona Mohamsson in our analysis a month ago as a possible candidate for the position as leader, but she was hardly one of the favourites. Her appointment came as many of the top names, however, said they were not interested in the role, including Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari. Mohamsson, who spent most of her childhood and teenage years in south-western Sweden, has had a meteoric career within the Liberal Party, only entering national politics as recently as April, when she took over as party secretary – one of the most senior roles within a party. Before that the 30-year-old had been active in youth and local politics, serving as deputy chair of the party's LUF youth wing and city councillor in charge of social services in Hisingen, a suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city. She was born in Hamburg, Germany, and moved to Överlida, a village of around 500 people in the countryside south-east of Gothenburg, when she was eight years old. Her father is an Israeli Arab born in Haifa and her mother is from a mountain village in Lebanon, close to the Israeli border. The family changed their name from Mohammed to the more Swedish-sounding Mohamsson shortly after arrival in Sweden. Advertisement She was formally elected as the new leader of the Liberals on June 24th, and thrown into the deep end only hours later when she gave a speech on the main stage of Sweden's annual, high-profile Almedalen political week on the island of Gotland. Mohamsson dedicated a significant amount of her speech to one of the Liberals' main issues: schools, saying she had arrived in Sweden to a 'flumskola' (a Swedish slang word that refers to the school system as 'frivolous') run by the centre-left Social Democrats, a stark difference to the German school system she had started out in. 'That is my promise to those of you listening. The school as an institution of knowledge must be restored. Folkpartiet classic,' she told the audience at Almedalen Week. In the end, which she didn't mention, she actually spent most of her Swedish school years under a national government led by the centre-right Alliance (including the Liberals, known at the time as Folkpartiet) for eight years and a centre-right majority city council. Advertisement She also praised the Tidö coalition – the government made up of the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals, supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats – for its approach to crime and punishment, urging 'hard measures for soft values'. 'We should not have a Sweden where police officers are shot. Where children are killing other children. With streets of sorrow or neighbours in fear,' she said. She said integration policies should place tougher demands on people, but also offer opportunities, such as Swedish for Immigrants classes coupled with language requirements for citizenship, or vocational training but also a cap on benefits. 'That's Liberal politics for more Mohamssons. Where second-generation immigrants become first-generation Swedes. With support from society, but also the clear expectations of society. Tough love, for a Sweden that sticks together,' she said. Advertisement Mohamsson avoided addressing criticism of her party's collaboration with the Sweden Democrats in her speech, saying she could 'work together with all parties', before launching a blistering attack on the centre-left opposition, which she argued shared neither a joint vision for Sweden nor insights into the problems the country faces. 'It's not an option you want to collaborate with if you want to push Sweden in a better and safer direction,' she said. At a press conference after the speech, she said the Liberals would make a clear statement about future government coalitions after the summer holidays. The party has previously refused to be part of a government that includes the Sweden Democrats, or support such a government. But according to unconfirmed reports by public broadcaster SVT, the party management will attempt to change its stance. Based on current polling figures, the best hope for a right-wing government after the 2026 election is if the Sweden Democrats are allowed to formally join the government. That's if the Liberals even make it into parliament, which is not a safe bet. In the latest major poll by number-crunchers Statistics Sweden, they were polling at 2.8 percent, far below the 4 percent required to get any seats in parliament. Will Mohamsson's "tough love" be able to turn things around for the Liberals? It remains to be seen. Politics in Sweden is The Local's weekly analysis, guide or look ahead to what's coming up in Swedish politics. Update your newsletter settings to receive it directly to your inbox.
Local Sweden
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
US Nato support 'still quite strong', insists former ambassador to Sweden
The former US ambassador to Sweden, Erik Ramanathan, is back for the Almedalen political week in Visby. He tells The Local why he thinks Nato countries can still rely on US support despite US President Donald Trump's rhetoric, and why he'll be attending Stockholm Pride. Advertisement When Donald Trump moved back into the White House, Erik Ramanathan and his husband Ranesh moved back to Boston from the elegant brick US Ambassador's Residence in Stockholm's diplomatic quarter, after a two-year stint as Joe Biden's appointee. Since then, the US has formally been without a US ambassador - Donald Trump's pick, Christine Jack Toretti, has yet to be approved by the Senate: attempts by Trump to get her nominated as ambassador to Malta in 2018 failed; the Senate withheld its approval. This was reportedly partly because of a restraining order which had allegedly been filed against her for placing a target sheet which had been riddled with bullets in the office of her ex-husband's doctor. But if the new ambassador might not be here for a while, the old one is back for the Almedalen political week in Visby, six months after he left office. I caught up with him over a lunch of crêpes in the walled city. So what made him make the trip? 'I'm here because, first of all, I love Sweden and developed deep connections with people with companies, with organizations, civil society, government folks. I want to continue those relationships and kind of sow what seeds of continued collaboration and other great things we can do together.' Much has changed since he was ambassador: Trump has sown grave doubts about American commitment to Ukraine and Nato –– core concerns of Sweden, which has Russia in its back yard. He has also spread jitters in Sweden's export-dependent economy with his on-again, off-again approach to tariffs. Ramanathan says the impact of tariffs is being felt by companies on both sides of the Atlantic: '[Companies] are having real trouble making long-term plans. Even short-term plans have been somewhat disrupted, but I think particularly thinking through: do we hire or not hire? Where do we expand? How should we think about our markets internationally?'. 'And there's a lot of uncertainty because the current administration keeps taking bold moves of one type or another and then sometimes reversing course a short while later.' Advertisement The administration's assaults on the university sector have also created ripples, but Ramanathan doesn't expect a sudden exodus of researchers: 'People don't move around the world at the drop of a hat — that's just a reality. But might American scientists or students love to come to Sweden for a degree or for a fellowship program or to do some concentrated work on a collaborative academic project? Absolutely. And they might just decide to stay, if they love it, right?' The Trump administration has made headlines in Sweden recently by asking organizations including the City of Stockholm to sign contracts binding them not to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The City authorities refused to comply. What did Ramanathan think when he saw what was happening? 'Well, I've been a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion my entire career, and I intend to continue. And by the way, while not every business and organization started as a champion of so-called DEI, the vast majority have become champions because they see that it helps their businesses to have inclusive workforces, to have a greater diversity of viewpoints around the table, to not have echo chambers in their boardrooms.' Advertisement One upshot of the new administration's changed attitudes is that it is unlikely to turn up at Stockholm Pride in August. Ramanathan, however, will be there. 'It's one of my favourite Pride marches in the world. And I think it's really important to be there, to show what I believe as an American, as a patriotic American, that these are values that we stand for, and that we believe in our LGBT, brothers and sisters, and that we celebrate pride, we celebrate inclusion, and we're going to continue doing that regardless of what any government figure may say.' Perhaps the gravest threat from the Trump administration, seen through the eyes of many Swedes and other Europeans, is the signals Trump has given that he may not be prepared to come to allies' aid, at least if they don't radically increase defence spending. Similarly, the fact that Trump has sometimes appeared to take Russia's side over the Ukraine war, including by blaming Ukraine for starting the conflict, has concerned Europeans who see the defence of Ukraine as an existential question for the continent. One small but poignant symbol of this was the US Embassy in Stockholm removing a pro-Ukrainian banner from its facade shortly after Trump took office. While Ramanathan thinks taking down the banner was a 'terrible thing', he thinks its too early to write off US support for Ukraine: 'I believe that Americans still support Ukraine. The vast majority of Americans do. I know I do. I see it in my own community, I hear it from everyone I talk with. I know that the government is still frankly working out its policy as to continued military assistance, but there haven't been abrupt changes. The policies largely have remained the same if rhetorically not as forward-leaning, if you will. And so to have a banner come down that simply says, that we're really going to prioritize this is a shame.' Advertisement Support for Nato, he thinks, is if anything even stronger, including among Republican congressmen and women. 172 US congressmen - a quarter of the total - came to Sweden during his ambassadorship, mostly to support the Swedish application to join the transatlantic alliance. 'They all stood by my side, Republican or Democrat, and said, we're here for as long as it takes. We're with Ukraine. Rhetorically, I've seen that change a bit on Ukraine, but I don't believe that the support of most [politicians] has. "And on Nato, I actually don't think there's really been any change at all. I know there are many logistical policy things to deal with in Nato spending targets. I believe that the fact that we're all looking to invest more in Nato is a good sign, is a sign consistent with my view that Nato support by the US is quite strong, regardless of what you occasionally hear rhetorically from the top of the administration.'
Local Sweden
09-06-2025
- Business
- Local Sweden
Work permits and laughing gas: What changes in Sweden this summer?
In many ways, Sweden grinds to a halt during the summer, as workers head out to the countryside for a well-earned rest. That's not quite true though – here are the new laws and other changes in store for the next few months. Advertisement June The salary threshold for work permits was originally set to be raised to 100 percent of the median salary on June 1st. As readers will have realised by now, that didn't happen. Sweden's Migration Minister Johan Forssell told The Local in May that 'no formal decision' has been made on where the final salary threshold will actually end up. What we do know, though, is that the government in February asked the Migration Agency to present a list of which professions should be exempt from the salary threshold by August 1st, suggesting that the original plan to roll out the new threshold on June 1st will be postponed until at least the autumn. Staying on the topic of work permits, Statistics Sweden is set to release new figures on June 17th. This may not sound like a big deal, but these are the figures which affect the salary threshold for work permit applicants in Sweden. The most recent figures from June last year put the median salary at 35,600 kronor, meaning that work permit holders applying for a new permit or an extension need to earn 80 percent of this – 28,480 kronor – to qualify for a permit. This was a hike of over a thousand kronor compared with the year before. Advertisement Once the new median salary figure has been released, the work permit salary requirement will (almost certainly) rise. This will only apply to applications submitted from that date – the threshold is determined by the most recent salary figures at the time of application, not at the time a decision is made. The Riksbank central bank is also set to make a decision on whether or not to cut Sweden's key interest rate on June 18th. A number of Swedish banks, among them Handelsbanken and Swedbank, predict a cut in June, due in part to lower than expected inflation in May. There will also be interest rate announcements in July and August. There are a couple of political events this month – Järvaveckan on June 11th-14th in Stockholm and Almedalen on Gotland between June 23rd and 27th. Midsummer falls on June 20th – and it's the last public holiday of the year (until Christmas at least), so make the most of it. Advertisement July A lot of new laws usually come into force in Sweden on July 1st. Sweden's former government introduced a flight tax in 2018 to lower the impact of flights on the climate. That will be abolished from July 1st, which the current government and the Sweden Democrats expect will shave 80 kronor off the price of domestic and European flights. Flights outside Europe are expected to be around 325 kronor cheaper. The sale of laughing gas will also be banned from July 1st in cases where there is a suspicion it will be used for recreational purposes. There will also be a ban on selling it to minors and a limit on the amount which can be purchased at one time, set at 18 grams. Sellers found breaking the new law risk a fine or a prison sentence of up to six months. Advertisement A new law making it easy to change legal gender is also set to come into force from July 1st. The law would allow qualified doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists and healthcare counsellors (kurator) to write up a document for patients wishing to change gender, which would then be processed by the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). If the request to change legal gender is granted, the Tax Agency would be responsible for changing their gender in the population register, as well as altering the second-to-last number in the applicants' personal number – women have even numbers while men have odd numbers. Tax on beer will also be cut from the beginning of July for small independent breweries – defined as breweries producing a maximum of three million litres of beer per year. The size of the tax cut is determined by the breweries' yearly production, with a maximum cut of 50 percent. If you got your final tax bill at the beginning of April, you'll have to pay any arrears by July 14th. August The Migration Agency is set to present its list of exceptions to the work permit salary threshold to the government by August 1st. That doesn't mean that they will come into force on that date, but it does mean that we should at least have more information about which professions could be included. Swedes start heading back to the office after their summer holidays, with Monday July 28th and Monday August 4th likely to be the big return days this year. The majority of workers take at least a couple of weeks off during July, with many taking three or even four. This means that replies to all those unanswered emails you've sent over the last month will start ticking into your inbox as Sweden's workers return to their desks. The autumn semester in schools and universities gets under way in August and early September, although the exact date depends on where in Sweden you live. There are a couple of festivals happening this month – music festival Way out West in Gothenburg from August 7th-9th, and Malmöfestivalen between August 8th and 15th. Unfortunately there are no public holidays in August, although this doesn't mean there's nothing to celebrate. The crayfish season officially starts on August 7th this year, so be prepared for crayfish-themed decorations to start popping up in your local supermarket, and find some friends (preferably with access to a summer house) to hold your very own kräftskiva (crayfish party). As with most Swedish celebrations, expect drinking songs, lots of snaps, crispbread, cheese, and most likely some sort of västerbottenpaj – a quiche featuring Sweden's favourite cheese, västerbottensost. Here's our guide to six essential Swedish drinking songs for crayfish party season.
