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 As it stands right now, a 'Tidö 2' government lacks a mandate, as does the Centre Party's dream 'middle government', and two of the four opposition parties who could form a majority refuse to rule together. If nothing changes, what does this mean for foreigners in Sweden? https://www.thelocal.se/20260914/what-does-swedens-unexpectedly-close-election-result-mean-for-foreigners Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:03:13 +0200 what-does-swedens-unexpectedly-close-election-result-mean-for-foreigners The Centre Party is the kingmaker for Sweden's next government, but it has boxed itself in with red lines in all directions. Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist should learn from Ebba Busch if she wants to find a way out, argues The Local's James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260916/opinion-the-misunderstood-centre-party-could-learn-from-ebba Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:16:15 +0200 opinion-the-misunderstood-centre-party-could-learn-from-ebba SVT's televised immigration debate showed being tough on immigration isn't a straightforward vote-winner any longer. But by focusing almost entirely on refugees, the debate managed to ignore the people who actually migrate to Sweden in the 2020s, writes The Local's James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260909/politics-in-sweden-immigration-is-on-the-agenda-but-the-debate-is-surreal Wed, 09 Sep 2026 11:38:04 +0200 politics-in-sweden-immigration-is-on-the-agenda-but-the-debate-is-surreal The Local's Nordic Editor, Richard Orange wonders whether the seeming division between the right-wing parties over the past few weeks was actually clever political theatre which the entire media has fallen for – including The Local. https://www.thelocal.se/20260908/opinion-has-jimmie-akesson-been-playing-swedens-media-like-a-fiddle Tue, 08 Sep 2026 14:06:35 +0200 opinion-has-jimmie-akesson-been-playing-swedens-media-like-a-fiddle From right-wing liberals to cake with the speaker: explaining the intricacies of Swedish coalition politics for your friends at home isn't always easy. James Savage has written a handy crib sheet to help you sound like an expert. https://www.thelocal.se/20260904/so-whos-winning-the-swedish-election-its-complicated Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:35:26 +0200 so-whos-winning-the-swedish-election-its-complicated Time and again, Swedish migration laws lead to people whom nearly everyone agrees should be allowed to stay being forced out the country. Sweden needs to do better, says James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260828/sweden-keeps-bodging-its-migration-laws-it-needs-to-do-better Fri, 28 Aug 2026 16:52:56 +0200 sweden-keeps-bodging-its-migration-laws-it-needs-to-do-better Sweden has kicked out three times more Brits after Brexit than any other European country. The European Commission has failed to lift a finger to help them. If it cares at all about the free movement of people it needs to act, argues James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260818/the-eu-is-betraying-brexit-brits-in-sweden Tue, 18 Aug 2026 17:09:58 +0200 the-eu-is-betraying-brexit-brits-in-sweden Swedes’ love of silence has saved us from the plague of talking unmanned supermarket checkouts — but its city centres need to turn up the volume, says James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260805/enjoy-the-swedish-rural-silence-but-let-the-cities-be-noisy Wed, 05 Aug 2026 15:05:55 +0200 enjoy-the-swedish-rural-silence-but-let-the-cities-be-noisy Coming from North American work culture, where you're often expected to pretend to love your job, it can be a bit of a shock to find that, in Sweden, a common conversation in the workplace is how eager you are to get away from it for a whole month, writes The Local's Mandy Pipher. https://www.thelocal.se/20260612/snart-ar-det-semester-how-to-talk-about-summer-holidays-like-a-swede Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:56:35 +0200 snart-ar-det-semester-how-to-talk-about-summer-holidays-like-a-swede Sweden's election is a fight about which parties voters hate most, rather than which ones they like. Spooking voters with the spectres of the other side's scariest parties could determine the result, writes James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260627/swedens-parties-conjure-ghosts-in-this-plague-versus-cholera-election Sat, 27 Jun 2026 15:54:03 +0200 swedens-parties-conjure-ghosts-in-this-plague-versus-cholera-election Everyone's talking about AI – apart from our leading politicians. Why the silence, asks The Local's James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260625/politics-in-sweden-why-are-swedish-politicians-so-silent-on-ai Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:20:25 +0200 politics-in-sweden-why-are-swedish-politicians-so-silent-on-ai 'The Summer is Short and it Mostly Rains Away,' goes the classic Swedish song. But Swedes are obsessed with it anyway. https://www.thelocal.se/20260621/what-swedish-summer-songs-reveal-about-swedish-culture Sun, 21 Jun 2026 08:40:38 +0200 what-swedish-summer-songs-reveal-about-swedish-culture When I moved to Umeå with my Swedish husband, our two-year-old understood Swedish but spoke only in English. After a month of preschool in Sweden, that flipped – long before I could follow along, writes The Local's Mandy Pipher. https://www.thelocal.se/20260529/the-hardest-part-of-moving-to-sweden-suddenly-not-understanding-my-own-child Fri, 29 May 2026 09:52:09 +0200 the-hardest-part-of-moving-to-sweden-suddenly-not-understanding-my-own-child Many Swedes were horrified at American treatment of immigrants in Minneapolis, a city where many of their own compatriots once settled. But there are more parallels with Sweden than many would like to admit, writes The Local's James Savage. https://www.thelocal.se/20260609/swedens-deportations-have-more-parallels-to-the-us-than-swedes-realise Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:25:27 +0200 swedens-deportations-have-more-parallels-to-the-us-than-swedes-realise The last step before a citizenship application can be approved is the personal appearance at a Migration Agency office. The Local's Becky Waterton had her appointment last week – here's what happened. https://www.thelocal.se/20260518/the-final-hurdle-what-happened-at-my-personal-appearance-for-swedish-citizenship Mon, 18 May 2026 13:23:13 +0200 the-final-hurdle-what-happened-at-my-personal-appearance-for-swedish-citizenship With a majority of just one vote, parliament rejected adding transitional rules to Sweden's June 6th citizenship reforms. But there's still reason to be hopeful, writes The Local's Richard Orange. https://www.thelocal.se/20260429/opinion-the-campaign-for-transitional-citizenship-rules-failed-but-it-wasnt-in-vain Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:52:15 +0200 opinion-the-campaign-for-transitional-citizenship-rules-failed-but-it-wasnt-in-vain On April 29th, Swedish MPs will have a choice. They can vote in favour of transitional rules for citizenship, or condemn many of the 100,000 in the queue to a rejection. They must choose the former, writes The Local's Editor Emma Löfgren. https://www.thelocal.se/20260428/swedish-mps-must-vote-for-fair-transition-for-100000-in-citizenship-queue Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:59:10 +0200 swedish-mps-must-vote-for-fair-transition-for-100000-in-citizenship-queue It can feel very rude to foreigners, but if you've had the experience in Sweden of a stranger looking coldly at you, only to look away when you return the look with a smile, try to take comfort in knowing that it might actually be Swedish politeness, writes The Local's Mandy Pipher. https://www.thelocal.se/20260416/why-that-swede-glaring-at-you-on-the-street-might-be-trying-to-be-polite Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:10:26 +0200 why-that-swede-glaring-at-you-on-the-street-might-be-trying-to-be-polite The Swedish government's plan to scrap an easier route to citizenship for the children of foreigners is unfair and unequal, argues The Local's reader Ramy E. https://www.thelocal.se/20260414/opinion-why-are-swedens-citizenship-reforms-telling-some-children-they-belong-less Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:21:42 +0200 opinion-why-are-swedens-citizenship-reforms-telling-some-children-they-belong-less Alma Dautovic, Aimee Miles, Igor Ryazanov, and Fubu Ngubu, from the SULF union, question whether the government's proposals to making it easier for international researchers like them to settle in Sweden will make a substantive difference. https://www.thelocal.se/20260410/opinion-swedens-new-rules-for-foreign-researchers-offer-little-real-relief Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:46:09 +0200 opinion-swedens-new-rules-for-foreign-researchers-offer-little-real-relief