https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Sweden in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed International coverage of Swedish politics focuses overwhelmingly on the far-right, giving them influence disproportionate to their level of domestic support. Journalism professor Christian Christensen sets out why this is a problem. https://www.thelocal.se/20210702/opinion-why-cant-foreign-media-see-past-swedens-far-right Fri, 02 Jul 2021 17:42:13 +0200 opinion-why-cant-foreign-media-see-past-swedens-far-right As the next vote to form a government looms, margins in Sweden's parliament have never been thinner, and the choice of who next runs Sweden could be down to a single MP, or even down to pure chance. https://www.thelocal.se/20210705/why-the-next-vote-on-a-swedish-pm-will-have-such-thin-margins Mon, 05 Jul 2021 16:42:05 +0200 why-the-next-vote-on-a-swedish-pm-will-have-such-thin-margins Sweden's political landscape has changed significantly in recent years, leading to a situation where for the first time a sitting PM has been toppled in a no-confidence vote. But it's not the first time the country has experienced political turmoil, so we look back at previous crises, what caused them and how Sweden got through them. https://www.thelocal.se/20210630/five-political-crises-in-swedens-history-and-how-they-were-resolved Wed, 30 Jun 2021 10:21:11 +0200 five-political-crises-in-swedens-history-and-how-they-were-resolved With talks between Sweden's political parties underway and the parliamentary speaker aiming for a new government in place by the end of July, there are a few possible scenarios on the cards. https://www.thelocal.se/20210629/four-scenarios-who-is-most-likely-to-be-swedens-next-prime-minister Tue, 29 Jun 2021 19:15:19 +0200 four-scenarios-who-is-most-likely-to-be-swedens-next-prime-minister Prime Minister Stefan Löfven resigned on Monday to trigger a process aimed at finding a new Swedish government. Here's a look at the possible scenarios for what happens next. https://www.thelocal.se/20210628/swedish-pm-resigns-what-happens-now Mon, 28 Jun 2021 14:00:47 +0200 swedish-pm-resigns-what-happens-now After Sweden's prime minister lost a historic no-confidence vote, he faces the choice of speaking to other political parties to build a majority, or calling for fresh elections. The Local looked at the numbers and expert views to find out what we can expect. https://www.thelocal.se/20210621/analysis-what-could-swedens-next-government-look-like Mon, 21 Jun 2021 19:26:28 +0200 analysis-what-could-swedens-next-government-look-like Over the 14 months since the Covid-19 crisis began to affect daily life in Sweden, both the pandemic and the national response have revealed some important things about Sweden and the Swedes, writes The Local contributor Chiara Milford. https://www.thelocal.se/20210518/10-things-the-covid-19-crisis-has-taught-us-about-sweden Tue, 18 May 2021 18:30:12 +0200 10-things-the-covid-19-crisis-has-taught-us-about-sweden Does the Liberal Party's decision to open the door to working with the Sweden Democrats indicate a shift in Swedish politics ahead of the 2022 election? The Local speaks with two political analysts to find out what's going on. https://www.thelocal.se/20210406/analysis-has-the-far-right-become-normalised-in-sweden Tue, 06 Apr 2021 18:29:34 +0200 analysis-has-the-far-right-become-normalised-in-sweden The second smallest party in the Swedish parliament, the Liberals, is again dominating the headlines after it approved proposals to campaign for a centre-right government in next year's general election, opening the door to cooperation with the far-right Sweden Democrats. https://www.thelocal.se/20210329/working-with-the-far-right-what-a-watershed-liberal-party-vote-means-for-swedish-politics Mon, 29 Mar 2021 12:40:24 +0200 working-with-the-far-right-what-a-watershed-liberal-party-vote-means-for-swedish-politics UPDATED: Sweden on Friday passed a new pandemic law. A legal professor answered some of The Local's questions about the changes, including why it took so long and the key differences compared to a never-used emergency law passed last spring. https://www.thelocal.se/20201222/explained-what-you-need-to-know-about-swedens-pandemic-law Tue, 22 Dec 2020 12:22:17 +0100 explained-what-you-need-to-know-about-swedens-pandemic-law Sweden is seeing around 60 to 70 deaths linked to the coronavirus per day, with a case notification rate that puts it as one of Europe's worst affected countries. https://www.thelocal.se/20210107/these-are-the-key-numbers-to-know-about-the-coronavirus-situation-in-sweden Thu, 07 Jan 2021 16:03:56 +0100 these-are-the-key-numbers-to-know-about-the-coronavirus-situation-in-sweden A trip by one Swedish senior official to visit family in the Canary Islands over Christmas has sparked anger that could threaten the country's coronavirus strategy focused on individual responsibility and public trust in authorities. https://www.thelocal.se/20210105/why-everyone-is-talking-about-this-swedish-officials-trip-to-the-canary-islands Tue, 05 Jan 2021 18:45:05 +0100 why-everyone-is-talking-about-this-swedish-officials-trip-to-the-canary-islands It's been four years since the polemic Brexit referendum and now the inevitable moment is upon us. So how have Brits living in Europe come to terms with leaving the EU? Graham Keeley finds out. https://www.thelocal.se/20201228/analysis-fear-and-loathing-in-brexit Mon, 28 Dec 2020 10:31:03 +0100 analysis-fear-and-loathing-in-brexit From January 1st 2021, Britons can no longer take advantage of the EU's right to freedom of movement, which means lost job opportunities, complications, visas, house sales and health issues as these Britons living in Europe testify. https://www.thelocal.se/20201225/landlocked-end-of-freedom-of-movement-complicates-lives-for-brits-in-europe Fri, 25 Dec 2020 09:32:10 +0100 landlocked-end-of-freedom-of-movement-complicates-lives-for-brits-in-europe The Swedish opposition has fired the first warning shots in the coming blame game over Sweden's coronavirus strategy. Will it end in someone being fired or resigning? https://www.thelocal.se/20201221/analysis-will-someone-have-to-resign-over-swedens-coroanvirus-strategy Mon, 21 Dec 2020 14:39:35 +0100 analysis-will-someone-have-to-resign-over-swedens-coroanvirus-strategy Sweden is universally thought of as an equality paradise. Economic historian Erik Bengtsson now disproves the belief that this Swedish egalitarianism is rooted in a centuries-old tradition: "Sweden used to excel in inequality." https://www.thelocal.se/20201123/sweden-the-worlds-most-equal-country Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:59:59 +0100 sweden-the-worlds-most-equal-country Sweden's government has long claimed the constitution prevents it from ordering shopping centres to close or banning big private parties, let alone imposing tougher lockdown measures such as curfews or stay-at-home orders. But is this really true? https://www.thelocal.se/20201119/does-swedens-constitution-really-prevent-tough-covid-measures Thu, 19 Nov 2020 11:40:26 +0100 does-swedens-constitution-really-prevent-tough-covid-measures Since the onset of the pandemic, the idea of a 'Nordic unity' has been difficult to sustain. Why do we speak of Northern Europe as a separate entity and, if these countries are so similar, what explains the divergences in approach to the coronavirus crisis? https://www.thelocal.se/20201102/what-unites-and-divides-the-northern-countries Mon, 02 Nov 2020 16:59:59 +0100 what-unites-and-divides-the-northern-countries As the Covid-19 pandemic makes a resurgence our journalists around Europe explain the state of play in their country, the measures being in put in place and the mood of the public as concerns of further restrictions and lockdowns grow. https://www.thelocal.se/20200925/around-europe-how-countries-are-battling-to-prevent-a-second-wave-of-covid-19 Fri, 25 Sep 2020 10:45:34 +0200 around-europe-how-countries-are-battling-to-prevent-a-second-wave-of-covid-19 Sweden has been much harder hit by the coronavirus than its Nordic neighbours, and now after a sharp drop in new cases reported over the summer, the latest figures show they are on the rise again. So how we worried should we be about a second wave? https://www.thelocal.se/20200925/analysis-how-concerned-should-we-be-about-swedens-rise-in-coronavirus-cases Fri, 25 Sep 2020 15:46:56 +0200 analysis-how-concerned-should-we-be-about-swedens-rise-in-coronavirus-cases