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THE WÄSTBERG CHRONICLES

TRANSPARENCY

Almedalen — Swedish openness galore

Anyone who doubts that Sweden is a country characterised by openness and informality should visit the small Hanseatic town of Visby on Gotland during the first week of July. This is when the Almedalen Week, or the “Political Week,” takes place every year.

Almedalen — Swedish openness galore
Youth leaders Jytte Guteland (SocDem) and Ida Gabrielsson (ChrDem) at Almedalen

The Almedalen Week is the biggest political meeting of the year. Or, if you like, the trade fair of the chattering classes.

About 7,000 politicians, decision-makers, journalists, trade unionists, lobbyists and a couple of ambassadors spend a week in Visby. (A team from The Local was of course present among the 400 or so journalists at Almedalen.)

You can have breakfast at Wisby Hotell with the prime minister at the table just beside you and a TV anchorman at another. You will bump into the leader of the opposition or the president of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise on the street.

Every night, one of the party leaders gives a 30-minute speech from the stage in the town park, Almedalen. The other party leaders are often there to listen. You can also meet with former prime ministers (I saw two of them) in the crowd.

During Almedalen Week 2009 more than 1,000 free political events – speeches, seminars, hearings – took place. Thousands of bottles of rosé were emptied at the many parties mostly thrown by public relations companies.

This is a political circus. The aim: to build networks, to educate people, to set the political agenda, to go deeper into issues, to give opportunities for meetings. You meet in an informal way, in short sleeves, at parties, in late-night restaurants and at breakfast tables.

Any topic that in one way or another could be the subject of political discussions could be raised. There were seminars on city planning, alcohol, culture, youth questions, quality of food. I even saw a leaflet and a badge marking a protest against converting the playground of a Stockholm high school into parking lots. Why was that parents’ association in Visby? Simply because the local political decision-makers were there too – and the parents were much more likely to get access to the politicians by chance in Visby than to get a scheduled appointment in Stockholm.

Of course, politics is often something of a closed circuit. After the murders of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986 and Foreign Minister Anna Lindh in 2003, politicians have been more protected. And this includes Almedalen; security measures are taken and there are policies. But less so than in Stockholm. Almedalen tends to be a happy period of openness and accessibility.

This may have a deeper meaning for the perception of Sweden. In the annual Anholt Nation Brands Index, Sweden ranks highest in the category of ”governance,” because of how society works, the low level of paralyzing conflicts, the low level of corruption. In the study – where 20,000 people in 20 countries grade 50 countries – Sweden is also characterized as an open society.

This has been a part of the Swedish tradition for the last 80 years. The level of conflicts on the labour market is low. Even if there are conflicts, labour and capital usually understand each other and try to work together.

The multi-party system in Sweden – right now, seven parties are represented in the parliament – makes compromise and cooperation a necessity. Obviously, in a way that might seem strange in many countries, the opposition will hold back during the Swedish Presidency of the European Union in order to give the government peace and quiet to work.

Sometimes this attitude will make public life a dull place, but for a very small country dependent on foreign trade and foreign relations, it is an advantage. Swedes just make up 1.1 percent of the world population. To make an impact on the other 98.9 we’d better organize ourselves and show unity.

Olle Wästberg, Director-General of the Swedish Institute

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MILITARY

Sweden steps up Baltic defence in ‘signal’ to Russia

Sweden's defence minister has said his country is carrying out military exercises in the Baltic Sea to 'send a signal' to countries including Russia.

Sweden steps up Baltic defence in 'signal' to Russia
Swedish troops on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland. Photo: Joel Thungren/Försvarsmakten/TT

The so-called “high readiness action” means the Swedish army, navy and air force are currently more visible in the southeastern and southern Baltic Sea and on the island of Gotland.

No details have been disclosed about the number of troops involved in the action.

Sweden is “sending a signal both to our Western partners and to the Russian side that we are prepared to defend Sweden's sovereignty,” Hultqvist told news agency TT.


Ground troops on Gotland. Photo: Bezhav Mahmoud/Försvarsmakten/TT

“There is currently extensive military activity in the Baltic Sea, conducted by Russian as well as Western players, on a scale the likes of which have not been seen since the Cold War,” the Swedish Armed Forces' Commander of Joint Operations, Jan Thörnqvist, said in a statement.

“The exercise activities are more complex and have arisen more rapidly than before. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has caused global anxiety and uncertainty. Over all, the situation is more unstable and more difficult to predict,” Thörnqvist said.


A Visby-class corvette and two Jas Gripen jets in the air. Photo: Antonia Sehlstedt/Försvarsmakten/TT

Hultqvist said Sweden was also monitoring developments in Belarus “very closely”.

Non-Nato member Sweden, which has not been to war in two centuries and which slashed military spending at the end of the Cold War, reopened a garrison on Gotland in January 2018 amid concerns about Russian intentions in Europe and the Baltic.

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