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In pictures: 15 times Stefan Löfven looked incredibly Swedish

From The Local's archives: Sweden's prime minister isn't afraid of a silly photo-op: put a can of fermented herring in front of him, and he'll smell it. The Local rounds up the best images of Stefan Löfven looking like the stereotypical Swede.

Published: 27 February 2017 11:52 CET
Updated: 3 July 2017 14:46 CEST
In pictures: 15 times Stefan Löfven looked incredibly Swedish
Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven trying to look relaxed in a hammock. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

Article originally published in 2017.

Last winter Löfven posed for pictures while riding a snowmobile. But it is not the first time the Swedish prime minister has been in very Swedish situations. We went through the archives and found this:

1. That time he smelled (and ate) fermented fish… and enjoyed it


Only a real Swede gets that close to a newly opened can of surströmming. Photo: Susanne Lindholm/TT

2. That time he showed India how to tackle an Ikea box


Löfven unpacking a model of an Ikea store in India. Photo: Tobias Osterberg/TT

3. That time he cruised on a snowmobile in freezing cold Jämtland


Löfven, Stefan Löfven. Photo: Robert Henriksson/TT

4. That time he took workplace safety seriously in Tidaholm


Löfven making sure everyone has their hi-vis vests on at a factory in Tidaholm. Photo: Adam Ihse/TT

5. That time he sat as far from everybody as possible in parliament


Löfven likes to sit by himself, even in parliament. It’s the Swedish way. Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

6. That time he got into Sweden colours for Euro 2016


“We only lost 1-0! High five!” Photo: Marcus Ericsson/TT

7. All those times he went in for the traditional Swedish hug


Löfven isn’t afraid of a good old-fashioned Swedish hug. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

8. That time he ate liquorice flavoured ice cream (and enjoyed that, too)


Only a Swede would think combining liquorice and ice cream is a good thing. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

9. That time he left his car at home and took the train to work


Löfven stepping off the train to Uppsala from Stockholm. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman/SvD/TT

10. That time he unashamedly attacked fika


Buns, you say? Don’t mind if I do… Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

This list was first published in February 2017 as a top-ten list. But then the pictures kept coming, so we just kept adding…

11. That time he took fitness seriously in Hofors


Löfven during a visit to a medical practice in Hofors. Swedes are nuts for exercise. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

12. That time he fell out of the hammock


Totally relatable though. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

13. That time he carried his food on a tray


Wondering what he had for lunch? Falukorv, bostongurka and mashed potato. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

14. That time he went sailing with an enormous Swedish flag


Löfven on a ferry between Oskarshamn and Öland. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

15. Another time he took workplace safety seriously


Will these protect me against the opposition? Photo: Thomas Johansson/TT

POLITICS

‘A group of Nazis’: Masked men attack Swedish anti-fascism meeting

Several masked men burst into a Stockholm theatre on Wednesday night and set off smoke bombs during an anti-fascism event, Swedish police and participants said.

Published: 25 April 2024 06:08 CEST
'A group of Nazis': Masked men attack Swedish anti-fascism meeting

Around 50 people were taking part in the event at the Gubbängen theatre in a southern suburb of the Swedish capital, organised by the Left Party and the Green Party.

“Three people were taken by ambulance to hospital,” the police said on its website, adding that it had no information about the injuries suffered.

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According to the Expo anti-racism magazine, which had been invited to give a presentation at the event, “a group of Nazis” came into the theatre foyer just before the event was to begin and threw smoke bombs into the hall.

“The Nazis attacked visitors using physical violence… (and) vandalised the premises before throwing a type of smoke bomb that filled the entrance hall with smoke,” Expo wrote on its website.

“It’s terrible that a meeting organised by the left-wing party has been attacked,” said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, quoted by the TT news agency.

“This type of hateful behaviour has no place in our free and open society,” he said, adding that he had contacted the party’s leader to express his “deepest support”.

All of Sweden’s political parties denounced the assault as an “attack on democracy”, TT said.

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar told public broadcaster SVT that an “open event, for equality among individuals” was “violently attacked by those who seemed to be Nazis”.

She also called on “all political forces” to fight the “far right that threatens our democracy”.

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