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INSIDE SWEDEN

Inside Sweden: When the blizzard came in 1979 and 2024

The Local's editor Emma Löfgren writes about the biggest stories of the week in our Inside Sweden newsletter.

Published: 6 January 2024 09:30 CET
Inside Sweden: When the blizzard came in 1979 and 2024
Snow-covered cars on the E22 road through Skåne. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Hej,

In 1979, a blizzard hit southern Sweden. 

Metres of snow piled high along the streets, rural villages were left completely isolated, and people abandoned their snowed-in cars on the motorway.

It’s a winter people still talk about in the southern Skåne region.

Those memories may now have been replaced with 2024.

A truck driver, who was stuck for 20 hours after the snowstorm left 1,000 cars stranded on the E22 road between Hörby and Kristianstad this week, told The Local that he had never seen anything like it in his 30-year career.

Northern Swedes may laugh. After all, temperatures in the south were modest compared to their record-breaking cold of below -40C earlier this week.

I spoke to two of The Local’s readers who live near Luleå and Kiruna about what life is like there when temperatures drop to such extreme levels.

Mainly, you try to stay inside as much as possible, for safety reasons, and heating your house becomes an all-day project. And you wear layers.

In southern Sweden, the problem isn’t so much the temperature or even the snow. It’s the combination of snow and wind, which means that even when the snow ploughs are out, drifting snow quickly renders the roads unusable. 

That’s more or less what happened when the 1,000 cars got stuck in a monster queue. It started on Wednesday when a couple of trucks struggled to climb an icy slope. Then a few cars got stuck behind them, then more cars behind those. Meanwhile, the snow kept falling and eventually no one could get out.

Thankfully, in the end everyone managed to evacuate and although some had to be picked up by ambulance (and everyone was pretty cold, hungry and tired), there were no reports of serious injuries among any of the stranded drivers.

In other news

I hope you had a good holiday. Here are a few stories you may find useful:

Several trains and buses have been flat-out cancelled this past week. But what are your rights as a passenger and can you get your money back? 

If the weather is as bad as it’s been in northern and southern Sweden this week, it’s best not to get in the car at all. But if you do need to drive, make sure you’re well prepared and drive safely (seriously!). Here are our best tips.

Extra powers for security guards, cheaper fuel and tougher punishments for gun crimes. Here are some of the new laws which came into force on January 1st, 2024. And while we’re on the topic of change, we took a look at some of the ways in which Swedish migration rules are set to change this year.

I personally was happy that temperatures fell to around -10C even in southern Sweden towards the end of the week, as it meant I got a chance to clean my woollen sweaters in the snow. Say what now? Yes, snow-cleaning is a thing.

It’s January 6th today, which is a public holiday in Sweden, although it’s not going to do you a lot of good as it falls on a Saturday this year. So what’s so special about this day and do Swedes do anything to celebrate it?

All the best,

Emma Löfgren

Editor, The Local Sweden

Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members that gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences.

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For members

INSIDE SWEDEN

Inside Sweden: What does Sweden Democrats’ election flop mean for foreigners?

The Local's editor Emma Löfgren rounds up the biggest stories of the week in our Inside Sweden newsletter.

Published: 15 June 2024 11:48 CEST
Inside Sweden: What does Sweden Democrats' election flop mean for foreigners?

Hej,

The far-right Sweden Democrats have had a week of reckoning after they lost votes in the EU election – the first time in the party’s history that it’s performed worse in a national or EU election than previous elections. Thus far it had always been on an upward trajectory, a trend that is now broken.

In some districts it saw voters’ support reduced by up to a third, and in Sölvesborg (the popular party leader Jimmie Åkesson’s home town) where support also fell, there was talk of organising crisis meetings.

Let’s not exaggerate what this means. The Sweden Democrats get to keep their three seats in the European Parliament, and voting patterns for the EU election are usually different from the national elections (the Greens performed almost three times better than in the last national election less than two years ago).

A major poll this week suggested that the Sweden Democrats would win 19.5 percent of the vote if an election were held today – one percentage point lower than its 2022 election result, but better than its 13 percent in the EU election.

It is still a member of Sweden’s ruling Tidö coalition and it’s hardly the only party in favour of stricter migration: the right-wing Moderates and Christian Democrats, and the centre-left Social Democrats have all had a hand in the tightening of rules that have impacted foreigners in Sweden in recent years.

But its poor performance does tell us something, which may have at least a small chance at influencing the Swedish political debate in the years ahead.

It suggests that the Sweden Democrats are less able than many thought at mobilising its potential voters. Its voters are generally sceptical of the EU and less keen to vote in the EU election, not even for the Sweden Democrats.

It suggests that Åkesson overplayed his hand when he wrote an opinion piece in the run-up to the election seeking to legitimise the concept of folkutbyte, a clear reference to the Great Replacement Theory that underpinned the deadly terror attack mounted by the Norwegian extremist Anders Breivik.

It suggests that the party played it wrong when it launched a verbal attack on TV4, refusing to apologise after the broadcaster revealed that the party operated a so-called troll factory. Perhaps the public thought showing just a little bit of contrition would have been a more appropriate reaction.

It suggests that peace, democracy, the climate and European cohesion – none of which are Sweden Democrat core issues – are important to voters.

And it rocks the boat for a party that perhaps for the first time failed at what it claims to do better than anyone else: gauging the mood of the nation.

What topics would you like The Local to cover?

It’s a challenging time for the media industry with volatile tech algorithms and advertising markets hitting even the biggest of newsrooms. That’s why I wrote a couple of weeks ago that it’s such a relief that our focus and number one resource here at The Local isn’t the tech giants, but our readers.

I’d like to take a moment to ensure that we’re continuing to meet your needs. Please fill out this survey to suggest stories we should cover in the year ahead.

In other news

The number of Swedish work permits rejected because the applicant’s salary is too low has increased by almost 2,000 percent since the country tightened the rules last year, according to new figures supplied to The Local.

There are plenty of things Sweden could do to help foreigners integrate, said The Local’s readers when we asked for their suggestions as to how the country could become more inclusive.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and India are the top investment destinations for Swedish companies, meaning that businesses are planning on increasing their investments in these markets over the next 12 months.

English speakers who don’t speak Swedish can currently only donate blood in Stockholm, but The Local has been told of plans to roll out the service to Gothenburg and Uppsala in the year ahead.

The year-on-year inflation rate fell to 3.7 percent in May, according to new figures from Statistics Sweden. This was less than expected.

Hundreds of British citizens are still battling rejected applications to stay in Sweden, nearly two and a half years after the deadline to apply for post-Brexit residency status. The Local spoke to four of them.

Sweden’s Migration Agency has sent an analysis to the EU Commission, in which it concludes that its near blanket refusal of late applications for post-Brexit residency has been ‘at the right level’ and is of ‘a high legal quality’.

The number of beaches in Sweden which are checked and graded is growing every year, making it easy to make sure that where you are swimming is clean and safe. These are the cleanest beaches in Sweden this summer.

From TV schedules to bars and cafes, here are your options for watching all matches of the Euro 2024 football tournament in Sweden.

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Best wishes,

Emma

Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members which gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and with Membership+ you can also receive it directly to your inbox.

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