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Swedish politicians propose alcohol-free Riksdag

From official receptions and power lunches to office parties and other social engagements, the calendar of a Swedish member of parliament is filled with opportunities to have a few drinks.

Published: 2 January 2008 13:29 CET

The situation is a cause for concern among several members of parliament’s Sobriety Group.

According to interviews with fourteen members of the Sobriety Group conducted by Svenska Dagbladet, there is broad concern in the group for the alcohol consumption habits of Sweden’s elected officials.

“When I sat at a meeting last Tuesday at 3 o’clock there was a member of parliament who was quite intoxicated. It was really a sad sight. He was red-faced and smelled of alcohol. It was easy to see he was drunk,” said Sobriety Group member Mehmet Kaplan, a Green party MP.

Kaplan is certain that every elected official knows someone who has been drunk on the job, “but no one talks about it.”

Group chairman and social worker Egon Frid of the Left Party adds that the Riksdag provides ample opportunities to see alcohol’s negative consequences. He admits seeing parliamentary colleagues under the influence during working hours.

”It’s an unfortunate aspect of working in parliament. It’s not healthy to have such easy access to alcohol in and around one’s job,” said Frid.

Others in the Sobriety Group are not as concerned about the situation.

”Certainly people drink, but I can’t say that it’s a big problem,” said Ingemar Vänerlöv of the Christian Democratic party.

While the government has a policy for how to handle issues of alcohol and drug use that applies to both civil servants and politicians, the Riksdag currently lacks any rules governing work-related alcohol consumption.

The Riksdag’s Sobriety Group is now demanding regulation following a decision taken during their annual meeting in December to force the issue.

“I think the Riksdag ought to be completely alcohol free during official functions,” said Green party MP Helena Leander. “At the very least we have to have an alcohol policy.”

Sobriety Group spokesman Per Westerberg of the Moderate party wouldn’t comment on the group’s exact wishes, but says he is doing his utmost to maintain a level of “public restraint” during official functions.

OPINION: Are tips in Sweden becoming the norm?

The Local’s guide to tipping in Sweden is clear: tip for good service if you want to, but don’t feel the pressure: where servers in the US, for instance, rely on tips to live, waiters in Sweden have collectively bargained salaries with long vacations and generous benefits.

SEE ALSO: What’s the tipping etiquette in Sweden?

But there are signs that this is changing, and the change is being accelerated by card machines. Now, many machines offer three preset gratuity percentages, usually starting with five percent and going up to fifteen or twenty. Previously they just asked the customer to fill in the total amount they wanted to pay.

This subtle change to a user interface sends a not-so-subtle message to customers: that tipping is expected and that most people are probably doing it. The button for not tipping is either a large-lettered ‘No Tip’ or a more subtle ‘Fortsätt’ or ‘Continue’ (it turns out you can continue without selecting a tip amount, but it’s not immediately clear to the user).

I’ll confess, when I was first presented with this I was mildly irked: I usually tip if I’ve had table service, but waiting staff are treated as professionals and paid properly, guaranteed by deals with unions; menu prices are correspondingly high. The tip was a genuine token of appreciation.

But when I tweeted something to this effect (a tweet that went strangely viral), the responses I got made me think. Many people pointed out that the restaurant trade in Sweden is under enormous pressure, with rising costs, the after-effects of Covid and difficulties recruiting. And as Sweden has become more cosmopolitain, adding ten percent to the bill comes naturally to many.

Boulebar, a restaurant and bar chain with branches around Sweden and Denmark, had a longstanding policy of not accepting tips at all, reasoning that they were outdated and put diners in an uncomfortable position. But in 2021 CEO Henrik Kruse decided to change tack:

“It was a purely financial decision. We were under pressure due to Covid, and we had to keep wages down, so bringing back tips was the solution,” he said, adding that he has a collective agreement and staff also get a union bargained salary, before tips.

Yet for Kruse the new machines, with their pre-set tipping percentages, take things too far:

“We don’t use it, because it makes it even clearer that you’re asking for money. The guest should feel free not to tip. It’s more important for us that the guest feels free to tell people they’re satisfied.”

But for those restaurants that have adopted the new interfaces, the effect has been dramatic. Card processing company Kassacentralen, which was one of the first to launch this feature in Sweden, told Svenska Dagbladet this week that the feature had led to tips for the average establishment doubling, with some places seeing them rise six-fold.

Even unions are relaxed about tipping these days, perhaps understanding that they’re a significant extra income for their members. Union representatives have often in the past spoken out against tipping, arguing that the practice is demeaning to staff and that tips were spread unevenly, with staff in cafés or fast food joints getting nothing at all. But when I called the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Union (HRF), a spokesman said that the union had no view on the practice, and it was a matter for staff, business owners and customers to decide.

So is tipping now expected in Sweden? The old advice probably still stands; waiters are still not as reliant on tips as staff in many other countries, so a lavish tip is not necessary. But as Swedes start to tip more generously, you might stick out if you leave nothing at all.

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