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 Planning a holiday in Sweden this year? Swedish writer Lisa Bjurwald reflects on the types of holidaymakers you'll definitely run into around the country, and, perhaps, what your choice of destination says about you. https://www.thelocal.se/20210721/six-staycationers-youre-bound-to-run-into-at-these-swedish-holiday-destinations Wed, 21 Jul 2021 10:34:19 +0200 six-staycationers-youre-bound-to-run-into-at-these-swedish-holiday-destinations Columnist Lisa Bjurwald was raised with a suspicion towards American commercialisation, but she's come round to the idea that Sweden could learn a thing or two from holidays like Halloween. https://www.thelocal.se/20201028/opinion-what-can-sweden-learn-from-embracing-the-american-halloween-tradition Wed, 28 Oct 2020 17:34:32 +0100 opinion-what-can-sweden-learn-from-embracing-the-american-halloween-tradition Whether or not Sweden should abandon its alliansfrihet and join Nato is guaranteed to become one of the hottest political issues this election year.

 But why, asks Lisa Bjurwald, has the strategy been so popular in Sweden, and isn't it time we abandoned it? https://www.thelocal.se/20220303/opinion-isnt-it-time-to-bin-swedens-long-tradition-of-non-alignment Thu, 03 Mar 2022 08:48:21 +0100 opinion-isnt-it-time-to-bin-swedens-long-tradition-of-non-alignment Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will step down in November, leaving the future uncertain for whoever takes over the reins. The Local’s columnist Lisa Bjurwald sorts out the knowns from the unknowns and looks at what’s next for Sweden. https://www.thelocal.se/20210823/sweden-after-lofven-long-time-pm-makes-sudden-exit-but-will-his-successor-inherit-his-problems Mon, 23 Aug 2021 16:11:59 +0200 sweden-after-lofven-long-time-pm-makes-sudden-exit-but-will-his-successor-inherit-his-problems Sweden's Covid-19 strategy for schools is complex, but nonchalant attitudes and a lack of systematic protection for schoolchildren can only be described as irresponsible, argues Lisa Bjurwald in this opinion piece. https://www.thelocal.se/20210816/opinion-i-believe-sweden-will-regret-its-approach-to-covid-in-schools Mon, 16 Aug 2021 09:41:53 +0200 opinion-i-believe-sweden-will-regret-its-approach-to-covid-in-schools Women in Sweden may have (almost) equal salaries and shared parental leave, but what's it all worth if we can't feel safe, asks Swedish columnist Lisa Bjurwald after five women were killed in three weeks. https://www.thelocal.se/20210427/opinion-no-women-in-sweden-dont-yet-have-it-all Tue, 27 Apr 2021 17:07:24 +0200 opinion-no-women-in-sweden-dont-yet-have-it-all Socialising has been restricted in Sweden during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the impact on friendships goes beyond that, writes Lisa Bjurwald. Can friendships survive a crisis that has split the country into two distinct camps? https://www.thelocal.se/20210322/opinion-the-pandemic-has-caused-divides-and-damaged-friendships-in-sweden Mon, 22 Mar 2021 16:03:10 +0100 opinion-the-pandemic-has-caused-divides-and-damaged-friendships-in-sweden What happens when part of the population no longer follows Sweden's voluntary coronavirus rules? Nothing, apart from more people falling ill, writes Lisa Bjurwald in this opinion piece. But the pandemic isn't over, she writes – not for hospitals, not for risk groups, and not for you. https://www.thelocal.se/20210304/the-pandemic-isnt-over-until-every-last-one-of-us-is-safe Thu, 04 Mar 2021 08:00:41 +0100 the-pandemic-isnt-over-until-every-last-one-of-us-is-safe Yes, we're all excited by the snow, but that's no excuse to go sledding at a cemetery, writes Lisa Bjurwald about a recent debate that's arisen in Sweden. https://www.thelocal.se/20210128/opinion-has-swedens-individualism-made-us-insensitive-to-death Thu, 28 Jan 2021 13:04:44 +0100 opinion-has-swedens-individualism-made-us-insensitive-to-death OPINION: The Covid-19 vaccine is a given, but what else is in the cards for Sweden in 2021? Columnist Lisa Bjurwald shares her predictions with The Local. https://www.thelocal.se/20201223/opinion-whats-in-store-for-sweden-in-2021 Wed, 23 Dec 2020 12:52:02 +0100 opinion-whats-in-store-for-sweden-in-2021 Sweden's strict generational system is central to understanding Swedish society including our scandalous treatment of the elderly during the Covid-19 crisis, writes Swedish columnist Lisa Bjurwald. https://www.thelocal.se/20201207/opinion-does-swedens-grey-divide-explain-our-covid-19-crisis Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:28:24 +0100 opinion-does-swedens-grey-divide-explain-our-covid-19-crisis Swedes living abroad are calling on Sweden to remove bureaucratic hurdles that prevent them from returning home with their international families. https://www.thelocal.se/20201116/swedes-abroad-remove-unreasonable-hurdles-for-our-foreign-families Mon, 16 Nov 2020 13:11:23 +0100 swedes-abroad-remove-unreasonable-hurdles-for-our-foreign-families Does Sweden really think its migration bureaucracy won't harm its reputation, asks Lisa Bjurwald, after interviewing an Iraqi man who lost six years of his life to the residence permit carousel. https://www.thelocal.se/20201009/loved-by-people-hated-by-the-system-an-immigrants-tale-of-sweden Fri, 09 Oct 2020 11:29:59 +0200 loved-by-people-hated-by-the-system-an-immigrants-tale-of-sweden Swedish journalist Lisa Bjurwald wonders if a historic lack of social skills has led to a reluctance among her fellow reporters to hold power to account. https://www.thelocal.se/20200922/opinion-why-are-swedish-reporters-lousy-at-asking-follow-up-questions Tue, 22 Sep 2020 09:17:43 +0200 opinion-why-are-swedish-reporters-lousy-at-asking-follow-up-questions On a work trip from Sweden to France and Italy, columnist Lisa Bjurwald encountered varying attitudes to the coronavirus pandemic, and ponders on cross-European solidarity in times of crisis. https://www.thelocal.se/20200826/whats-it-like-travelling-from-sweden-through-europe-in-covid-times Wed, 26 Aug 2020 20:05:25 +0200 whats-it-like-travelling-from-sweden-through-europe-in-covid-times Swedish healthcare professionals must be careful not to dismiss the experience of coronavirus patients since we still know so little about the virus, writes Lisa Bjurwald in her column for The Local. https://www.thelocal.se/20200807/opinion-dont-mistake-patients-coronavirus-symptoms-for-anxiety-or-stress Fri, 07 Aug 2020 11:25:01 +0200 opinion-dont-mistake-patients-coronavirus-symptoms-for-anxiety-or-stress Sweden's immigration policy fails to accept or cater to the diverse nature of migration and people who migrate, writes columnist Lisa Bjurwald. https://www.thelocal.se/20200717/opinion-why-swedish-migration-policy-badly-needs-an-overhaul Fri, 17 Jul 2020 17:59:59 +0200 opinion-why-swedish-migration-policy-badly-needs-an-overhaul In a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic, rules cannot follow the Swedish mantra of lagom or 'everything in moderation', argues columnist Lisa Bjurwald. Especially not in a Sweden that is more individualistic than ever. https://www.thelocal.se/20200625/opinion-lagom-doesnt-cut-it-in-a-crisis Thu, 25 Jun 2020 14:01:59 +0200 opinion-lagom-doesnt-cut-it-in-a-crisis For those who move to Sweden from elsewhere, the best way to think of this country might be not as a country at all — but as a village, writes journalist Lisa Bjurwald in the first of a new series of columns for The Local. https://www.thelocal.se/20200612/lisa-bjurwald-in-many-ways-sweden-and-our-mentality-is-more-like-a-village-than-a-country Fri, 12 Jun 2020 13:53:03 +0200 lisa-bjurwald-in-many-ways-sweden-and-our-mentality-is-more-like-a-village-than-a-country