The Big Bad Swedish Politics & News Thread

[Viewfromthenorth]

I find the talk of an S-Fp-Mp (more likely S-Mp-Fp) coalition intriguing. Has it been seriously discussed at any level in Sweden? What about other centrist coalitions?

[Viewfromthenorth]

21 Ministries- is Sweden trying to compete with the European Commission?

You can integrate Labour & Social Affairs, Environment & Energy, Education & Science, Enterprise & Financial Markets, Foreign Affairs & EU Affairs (or add EU affairs to the PM portfolio, and put Foreign Aid to Foreign Affairs).

Don't you have a Ministry of Interior ?

Not all those minister posts have their own Ministries. EU Affairs is part of the PM's office, Social Security and Children and Elderly Care are part of Social Affairs, Foreign Aid is in the Foreign Ministry, Financial Markets in the Finance Ministry, Energy and Regions and Infrastructure in the Enterprise Ministry, and Science used to be a portfolio in the Education Ministry.

How I wish Norway would move in the same direction. Currently we have 20 members of cabinet, and all but the PM and Karl-Erik Schjøtt-Pedersen (who is in cabinet for no particular reason) have their own ministries.

By the way, the "Ministry of the Interior" concept is not very common in the Nordic countries, unless combined with something else (i.e. Denmark has combined it with health).

[Viewfromthenorth]

And why would we have a Minister of Interior? I have never understod what one of those are actually suppouse to do.

Because you want to separate executive from judiciary powers. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the judiciary system, drafts new legislation, especially public and criminal law, and carries out regulatory impact assessment on legislation prepared by other ministries. The Ministry of Interior controls police, prosecutors, jails, border police, fire-fighters and so on, and oversees the public sector (post classification, compensations & benefits, training, etc.).

So that's what an Interior Ministry is suppose to do! I actually had no idea.

In Scandinavian countries it is very rarely a problem that the Ministry of Justice controls both the courts and the police, though.

[Viewfromthenorth]

Even during the war, when membership of the party had very favorable implications, their number never exceeded 50 000. Quisling was probably just as delusional as a more recent fascist rat around here.

[Viewfromthenorth]

Seriously? Whipping at a youth congress? Swedes...

[Viewfromthenorth]

Seriously? Whipping at a youth congress? Swedes...

Oh the ignorance... Youth organizations nearly everywhere are the worst for that. They have the most factions with the most pointless arguments about useless sh**t, the most heated debates, the most manipulations, treachery and fraud. And socialist ones might be the worst of all.

I briefly got involved in one of them in France. I quickly ran away like hell.

Good sir,
I have been an active member of several youth organizations. I later found out, in Norway, only the Labour Party youth practices whips.

[Viewfromthenorth]

No point fretting overmuch over midterm polls.

Of course not. When they're consistent with a five year trend, however...

[Viewfromthenorth]

I understand. However, while the total Swedish alcohol consumption per capita is, indeed, low by European standards, people drink a lot when they actually drink.

Well, as far as I know this has kind of always been the case in the Nordic countries, partly due to our religious history.

It should be noted that the best-selling branch of it is located in the small border town of Strömstad - a town which probably more Norwegians than Swedes are aware of, because everyone from the Oslo Fjord region goes there for cheap booze. This has to do partly with taxes, but also with selection, which is seen by many to be better at Systemet than at the Norwegian Vinmonopolet. There's even a ferry from the city of Sandefjord in Norway to Strömstad, which survives on a mix of duty-free sales (as it crosses national borders, technically) and people headed for Systembolaget (and to the grocery stores that sell cheap meat and candy).

[Viewfromthenorth]

But then of course, the Norwegians also go her to buy cheap candy.

And meat, and frozen foods etc.

Myself, I haven't actually been to Strömstad in over ten years, because we do all our shopping at the giant mall in Nordby, just a kilometer or so from the border (but in the same municipality as Strömstad). As far as I know, that is Norwegian property mogul Olav Thon's most profitable operation.