The Local Sweden

New bid to put more cash in pensioners' pockets

Tue, 03 Sep 2013 09:31:00 +0200

With a year left until Sweden's parliamentary elections, the centre-right government of Fredrik Reinfeldt unveiled plans on Monday to cut pensioners' tax obligations by 2.5 billion kronor ($379 million) in next year's budget.

Sweden alters parental leave benefit rules

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:53:00 +0200

The government wants to alter Sweden's system of parental leave benefits in an effort to get more immigrant women into the workforce.

Minister touts new health system watchdog

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:14:00 +0200

The budget has been set for a new public agency tasked with tracking errors in the Swedish healthcare system, with health minister Göran Hägglund saying the agency's 651 million kronor ($98.5 million) budget will help improve Swedes' trust in the health system.

Crisis, conservatism, and China: the centre-right jockeys for position

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:04:00 +0200

Correspondent and commentator David Linden looks at whether leaders of Sweden's three centre-right political parties – which sometimes struggle in the shadow of the Moderates – managed to put their parties in the Almedalen spotlight.

Christian Democrats aim to split child allowance

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 14:31:00 +0200

Sweden’s Christian Democrats suggest that child allowance should be split between parents, whether living together or separately with shared custody, replacing today’s system in which the mother automatically receives the allowance.

Court slams sex change forced sterilization clause

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:26:00 +0100

Compulsory sterilization for people undergoing gender reassignment surgery is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and the rule should therefore no longer apply, an administrative court in Sweden has ruled.

Hägglund re-elected as Christian Democrat head

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:58:00 +0100

Christian Democrat leader Göran Hägglund succeeded in riding out the storm of doubts about his position over the past few months, gaining re-election at the party's national conference on Saturday, beating out challenger Mats Odell.

Christian Democrat leadership race heats up

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:19:00 +0200

A former minister as well a celebrity author and television personality Marcus Birro both announced on Sunday their plans to challenge embattled Christian Democrat leader Göran Hägglund for the party's top spot.

Government to appoint ‘future commission’

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:06:00 +0200

In the autumn the government will appoint a commission with the purpose to address the central challenges that Sweden will face in the future, the four government alliance party leaders Fredrik Reinfeldt, Jan Björklund, Maud Olofsson and Göran Hägglund wrote on Monday in daily Dagens Nyheter (DN).

Carl Bildt voted 'funniest' Swedish politician

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:46:00 +0200

Swedes find foreign minister Carl Bildt to be the funniest politician and minister for enterprise and energy Maud Olofsson to be the most boring, according to a survey carried out by TV channel Comedy Central.

'Pay funeral costs in return for organs': study

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:30:00 +0200

Swedish county health authorities should be allowed to pay for funerals in return for the relatives allowing the donation of the deceased's organs, Swedish researchers have argued in a new study.

Housing minister stymied in Stockholm flat hunt

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:05:00 +0200

Sweden's Minister for Public Administration and Housing Stefan Attefall has been left empty handed as he struggles to find an available apartment in Stockholm to meet his budget and needs, according to a report in the Metro newspaper.

Thirty Swedes bought kidneys abroad: study

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:06:00 +0100

Around 30 Swedish kidney patients have travelled abroad since the 1980s to have transplants using organs bought from impoverished people in foreign countries, according to an unpublished study from Karolinska University Hospital.

Swedes to pay more for healthcare

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 09:11:00 +0100

Swedes may soon be asked to contribute more to the cost of their healthcare. Social Affairs Minister Göran Hägglund wants to raise the maximum amount that individuals pay to 2,200 kronor per year ($347).

Health system wait times improve in Sweden

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:22:00 +0100

While Sweden’s health system now delivers care to 90 percent of patients within prescribed time limits, social affairs minister Göran Hägglund believes too many Swedes are forced to wait too long for the care they need.

'Swedish model' of healthcare set for export

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:16:00 +0100

The Swedish government is considering taking advantage of the good reputation its healthcare system has overseas and promoting the concept for export abroad.

'Elderly coordinator' to fix health care problems

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:16:00 +0100

Sweden has appointed a special elderly care coordinator to help address deficiencies in healthcare and other services the country provides its older residents.

Sweden's childcare allowance 'a fiasco'

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:43:00 +0100

Sweden's childcare allowance, strongly promoted by the Christian Democrats as a way to help parents who wish to spend more time at home with their young children, has been a fiasco, according to a previously unreleased report.

Hägglund takes election fight to the jungle

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:19:00 +0200

The Christian Democrats on Tuesday launched an election poster campaign featuring party leader Göran Hägglund facing up to a series of wild animals and arguing that Sweden needs more humanity and less "jungle law".

Swedish doctors back euthanasia

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:44:00 +0100

Every third doctor in Sweden supports the legalization of euthanasia, according to a new survey presented at the ongoing "Global Health in a new world" conference in Gothenburg.