Speaker postpones decision on government exploratory talks
Sweden's parliament speaker held talks with party leaders on Wednesday to determine who should try next to form a government after an inconclusive September election.
With both the left- and right-wing blocs struggling to build a majority, speaker Andreas Norlén's office said he would continue informal talks with party leaders before providing further information on the process "this week".
He could give the exploratory mandate to form a government to outgoing prime minister Ulf Kristersson, who heads a caretaker government after narrowly losing the September 13th election.
But he could also again ask the leader of the centre-left Social Democrats, Magdalena Andersson, who was Sweden's first woman prime minister in 2021-2022. (AFP/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: talks – samtal
Two convicted in fatal Tjörn boating accident
Both the pilot and the captain have been handed suspended sentences following last summer's deadly boating accident off the island of Tjörn, western Sweden, which saw the death of a mother and a child. The father and the other child survived.
The affected family welcomed the fact that the accident was tested in court.
"But there is really no joy in a verdict like this," said victims' counsel Elisabet Rohtlieb.
It was on July 28th that a leisure boat carrying a couple and their two young children was heading home on Hakefjorden, between Tjörn and the mainland, when they were struck by the Norwegian-registered cargo ship Misje Verde.
Now both the Russian captain and the Swedish pilot on board the Misje Verde have been convicted on all counts: negligence in maritime traffic, causing the death of another, and causing bodily harm.
The penalty is a suspended sentence for the captain, while the pilot receives a suspended sentence and daily fines. The captain avoids daily fines because he was previously held in custody.
Both men deny committing any crime, but Gothenburg District Court ruled that the collision should have been avoided if the lookout on board the cargo ship had been properly conducted.
Swedish vocabulary: a (maritime) pilot – en lots
Swedish agency calls for citizenship language tests to be postponed until 2029
In its final assessment, the council – which is responsible for arranging the tests – said that it would be impossible to carry out the tests by October 1st, 2027, the deadline the government agreed in February.
"UHR's overall assessment is that the conditions are not in place to implement stage two, which covers tests in reading and listening, by October 1st, 2027," it wrote in a press release announcing its conclusions. "This conclusion is based on the fact that Stockholm University still does not see any possibility to produce a fully developed, quality-assured test by that time."
The conclusions will come as a blow to Sweden's government, which initially called for the first tests to be held by August 17th 2026, but had to push back the deadline to October 2027, after Stockholm University, which is responsible for developing the language tests, said that developing them would take at least two years.
The agency said it believed it made most sense to hold the tests digitally, as developing both written and digital tests would be inefficient.
"Given the tight timeframes in both the development of tests and the acquisition of a digital testing platform, UHR therefore recommends that stage two be introduced in the fall of 2029. This provides opportunities to ensure a stable and well-tested high quality exam and to create the necessary conditions for the acquisition and implementation of a digital testing platform."
The oral and written proficiency tests, meanwhile, cannot, UHR estimates, be held until 2030 at the earliest.
Swedish vocabulary: a test – ett prov
Sweden's economic recovery hit by higher inflation and rising interest rates
Swedish economic growth is set to slow next year, as higher inflation and interest rates put the brakes on improving household purchasing power, according to the National Institute of Economic Research (NIER).
However, growth will hit 3.0 percent this year, according to the institute's latest Economic Tendency Survey.
"The recovery of the Swedish economy has come a long way," said Magnus Åhl, head of real economic analysis at NIER, during a press conference.
In its forecast, NIER assumes that the Riksbank's key interest rate will be raised four times by the end of 2028, reaching 2.75 percent.
Inflation according to the CPIF metric – which has a target of 2.0 percent – is expected to rise to an average of 2.6 percent in 2027, before slowing to 2.2 percent in 2028 and 1.8 percent in 2029.
"Inflation is low right now, but it will rise quickly in the period ahead," Åhl said, adding:
"Next year, energy prices will fall gradually and inflation will eventually drop back towards the target."
NIER pointed out that its forecasts, as always, are subject to uncertainty.
Swedish vocabulary: uncertainty – osäkerhet