SWEDEN - September 14, 2014 - GUIDE and THREAD

[ingemann]

We're kind of far from Denmark. For better and worse, I guess.

For better.

Don't worry Denmark was where Sweden is in the late 80ties and early 90ties, and what you see in Denmark today are the counterreaction to that. So Sweden can look forward toward 20-30 years of the Danish debate. It will be hilarious.

[ingemann]

We're kind of far from Denmark. For better and worse, I guess.

For better.

Don't worry Denmark was where Sweden is in the late 80ties and early 90ties, and what you see in Denmark today are the counterreaction to that. So Sweden can look forward toward 20-30 years of the Danish debate. It will be hilarious.

Indeed, rabid xenophobia is so hilarious...

Seeing that third world immigrants (and refugees) and descendants in Denmark, have a higher job rate, lower crime rate, higher education rate than in Sweden, well I guess it's good for something. But I guess it's better to place people in parallel societies, where they can live uneducated and jobless.

[ingemann]

The Gothenburg government is of course the (or at least one of the) worst in the entire country. But that was true four years ago as well, and if we didn't manage to outs them back then, we won't this time either with the national winds. The fact that voting has shifted so little compared to national trends of course still speaks volumes and is bad enough for the Social Democrats. (Still won't stop their mayor from getting a cushy job in the new administration on the national level.)

What surprises me is how badly FI is polling. Seeing as they polled pretty strong for Stockholm City Council, I would have expected they at least would outdo their national polling support here.

I must admit I find the fact that they get more than 1% of the vote amazing, who votes for them?

[ingemann]

The Gothenburg government is of course the (or at least one of the) worst in the entire country. But that was true four years ago as well, and if we didn't manage to outs them back then, we won't this time either with the national winds. The fact that voting has shifted so little compared to national trends of course still speaks volumes and is bad enough for the Social Democrats. (Still won't stop their mayor from getting a cushy job in the new administration on the national level.)

What surprises me is how badly FI is polling. Seeing as they polled pretty strong for Stockholm City Council, I would have expected they at least would outdo their national polling support here.

I must admit I find the fact that they get more than 1% of the vote amazing, who votes for them?

Pretentious 20-something hipsters who see elections as a chance at making a statement, and not as actually choosing people to govern us for the next four years. They're a fad, and they'll once more disappear into obscurity once they fail to enter parliament in three weeks.

Still, with around 2-3% of the support they should be able to conquer seats at a few City Council besides Schyman's home town of Simrishamn, and Gothenburg should be a prime target, but if they can't muster more than 1,5% in a city that brim with their target audience, they're becoming irrelevant even faster than I'd have expected them to. 

So they're that kind of party, let's hope they don't come in.

[ingemann]

I mind them (FI), they are a single issue party, which place itself in niche, which are already full. Single issue parties are almost always bad news (through sometimes they're sadly necessary) and when their issue are already embraced by other parties, they tend to be extremists of the worst kind, and the kind of people who votes for that kind of party are the most irritating selfrightious smug douches, you will ever meet.

[ingemann]

I mind them (FI), they are a single issue party, which place itself in niche, which are already full. Single issue parties are almost always bad news (through sometimes they're sadly necessary) and when their issue are already embraced by other parties, they tend to be extremists of the worst kind, and the kind of people who votes for that kind of party are the most irritating selfrightious smug douches, you will ever meet.

Most Swedish artists - ABBA-Benny included - seem to be ready to vote for the party, so in that case most Swedish artists are irritating selfrightious smug extremist douches. If that's your opinion, you're entitled to one.

Love the argument, next you will surprise me with the facts that capitalists are greedy, bikers are violent and priests are religious.

Edit: ...and this was not a dig against the Swedes, as I don't see other countries artist as better.

[ingemann]

I mind them (FI), they are a single issue party, which place itself in niche, which are already full. Single issue parties are almost always bad news (through sometimes they're sadly necessary) and when their issue are already embraced by other parties, they tend to be extremists of the worst kind, and the kind of people who votes for that kind of party are the most irritating selfrightious smug douches, you will ever meet.

Most Swedish artists - ABBA-Benny included - seem to be ready to vote for the party, so in that case most Swedish artists are irritating selfrightious smug extremist douches. If that's your opinion, you're entitled to one.

Love the argument, next you will surprise me with the facts that capitalists are greedy, bikers are violent and priests are religious.

Edit: ...and this was not a dig against the Swedes, as I don't see other countries artist as better.

I take it you don't particularily appreciate music or arts in its more wider form.

I appriciate much of it, I just don't think the ability to sing, play music, paint or write books, give you any greater political insight. I also think that it take a special kind of narcissism to seek the attention of being an artist, and if you're a successful artist you will spend years with few monetary needs, surrounded by yes men and brown noses. Which is never healthy for how ones political views develop (see Tom Clancy and Jan Guillou), no one develop smart thoughts if everyone keep agreeing with you and tell how right you are.

[ingemann]

I mind them (FI), they are a single issue party, which place itself in niche, which are already full. Single issue parties are almost always bad news (through sometimes they're sadly necessary) and when their issue are already embraced by other parties, they tend to be extremists of the worst kind, and the kind of people who votes for that kind of party are the most irritating selfrightious smug douches, you will ever meet.

Most Swedish artists - ABBA-Benny included - seem to be ready to vote for the party, so in that case most Swedish artists are irritating selfrightious smug extremist douches. If that's your opinion, you're entitled to one.

Love the argument, next you will surprise me with the facts that capitalists are greedy, bikers are violent and priests are religious.

Edit: ...and this was not a dig against the Swedes, as I don't see other countries artist as better.

I take it you don't particularily appreciate music or arts in its more wider form.

I appriciate much of it, I just don't think the ability to sing, play music, paint or write books, give you any greater political insight. I also think that it take a special kind of narcissism to seek the attention of being an artist, and if you're a successful artist you will spend years with few monetary needs, surrounded by yes men and brown noses. Which is never healthy for how ones political views develop (see Tom Clancy and Jan Guillou), no one develop smart thoughts if everyone keep agreeing with you and tell how right you are.

I guess we have diamentrically different views on artists then. For me they're the most intellectual, clear-sighted people there is, in sharp contrast to many other parts of society. Without artists, there would be no John Lennon or Imagine for instance, just to take the most famous of a trillion examples. Artists dear to dream about the future in a way that other people even don't have the luxury to do (not enough time) or don't have the mental capacity to do.

Well I guess that's a disagreement, I personal think that experience and knowledge give you political insight, and I'm very grateful that it was not artists like Tom Clancy which decided the American anti-terror policies.

[ingemann]

I mind them (FI), they are a single issue party, which place itself in niche, which are already full. Single issue parties are almost always bad news (through sometimes they're sadly necessary) and when their issue are already embraced by other parties, they tend to be extremists of the worst kind, and the kind of people who votes for that kind of party are the most irritating selfrightious smug douches, you will ever meet.

Most Swedish artists - ABBA-Benny included - seem to be ready to vote for the party, so in that case most Swedish artists are irritating selfrightious smug extremist douches. If that's your opinion, you're entitled to one.

Love the argument, next you will surprise me with the facts that capitalists are greedy, bikers are violent and priests are religious.

Edit: ...and this was not a dig against the Swedes, as I don't see other countries artist as better.

I take it you don't particularily appreciate music or arts in its more wider form.

I appriciate much of it, I just don't think the ability to sing, play music, paint or write books, give you any greater political insight. I also think that it take a special kind of narcissism to seek the attention of being an artist, and if you're a successful artist you will spend years with few monetary needs, surrounded by yes men and brown noses. Which is never healthy for how ones political views develop (see Tom Clancy and Jan Guillou), no one develop smart thoughts if everyone keep agreeing with you and tell how right you are.

I guess we have diamentrically different views on artists then. For me they're the most intellectual, clear-sighted people there is, in sharp contrast to many other parts of society. Without artists, there would be no John Lennon or Imagine for instance, just to take the most famous of a trillion examples. Artists dear to dream about the future in a way that other people even don't have the luxury to do (not enough time) or don't have the mental capacity to do.

Well I guess that's a disagreement, I personal think that experience and knowledge give you political insight, and I'm very grateful that it was not artists like Tom Clancy which decided the American anti-terror policies.

No idea who Tom Clancy is to be honest. Apparently he's not a big name internationally.

...

...

Yes he is a big name internationally, a very big name internationally.

[ingemann]

In the old days Danish pollsters, had a hard time getting DPP right in the polls (usual guessing 2% too low), do Swedish pollsters have the same problem?

[ingemann]

Of course that also ignore whether SD are undercounted, if they get 1-1,5% extra, from which side will SD take those votes?

[ingemann]

Would this "scandal" of SD leader Åkesson and gambling drive SD votes back to the ruling alliance?  Looks like not unless they can prove that he somehow was gambling with money that he got through illegitimate means. 

We can never know it before the election, but I suspect that this either not have any effect or a positive effects for SD. People are not idiots and they don't like being manipulated, and this kind of "news" so close to a election, often result in a backlash, of course if they prove that it was not his own money, all bet are off, but let be honest if they could prove that, it would be out now. But the fact that a politician, who haven't set himself up on economic issue and is unlikely to have any influence on them, gamble a lot of his own money away, are unlikely to have any great effect on SDs election results.