Sweden unveils budget to ‘take Sweden forwards’

Sweden announced its 74 billion kronor reform budget on Monday, including 10 billion kronor for pandemic-related initiatives, tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners and an extra week of paid leave for parents of young children.

But it is not guaranteed that the government’s budget will be passed by parliament. For the minority government to have a majority of MPs not vote against it, the most likely solution is to rely on support from both the Centre and Left parties, but neither has confirmed they will vote for the budget. The vote is set to take place in late autumn.

We’ve taken a look at how Sweden’s politicians reacted, and what the budget proposals mean for people living in Sweden.

Swedish vocabulary: forwards – framåt

Stockholm becomes Sweden’s first region to offer Covid-19 vaccine to 12-year-olds

Stockholm has opened up its booking system for 12 to 15-year-olds to get vaccinated, with appointments available from the first Monday in October, after Sweden’s government announced the decision to give the vaccine to those under the age of 16 last Thursday. 

Nationwide, the Public Health Agency now recommends that all regions offer the vaccine to schoolchildren from October, earlier than the previously suggested start date of November.

Swedish vocabulary: 12-year-old – tolvåring

More people require care for knives or gunshot wounds in Sweden

According to figures from the National Board of Health and Welfare’s patient register, 785 people were treated for knife or gunshot wounds in Sweden in 2010, Sveriges Radio Ekot was first to report. Ten years later, the corresponding figure was 1,165 patients, an increase of 48 percent. These figures do not include people who die at the scene of their injuries.. The majority of this number were treated for knife wounds, 1,030 last year.

“When I started my career, it was unusual for someone to come in who was stabbed. And now it’s every week,” Patric Antonsson, trauma coordinator at Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Hospital with 20 years’ experience in the emergency room, told the radio.

Wounds from this type of violent crime still make up a small proportion of the injuries requiring treatment, with falls and traffic accidents more common. 

Swedish vocabulary: wound – skada

Sweden’s oil power plant starts up amid record high electricity prices

Electricity prices have been at record high levels for several weeks, with the consequence that Sweden’s oil power plant has been started up even though there is no electricity shortage.

Sweden’s goal is that all electricity should be 100 percent renewable by 2040. There have been long-standing ambitions to reduce dependence on both nuclear power and oil and instead use wind, water and solar energy.

Energy company Uniper, which runs the Karlshamn power plant, has an agreement with the Swedish system operator during the winter months (mid-November to mid-March), to be ready to operate if there is a need for more electricity. Outside of that agreement period, Uniper is free to make commercial bids on the electricity market. It’s very rare for this to happen, but it has been running for the past two weeks. Even though the prices are still high, however, it’s now been taken out of service for a regular four-week-long review.

Swedish vocabulary: wound – skada