Centre Party bets on Tidö bloc collapse to open door for new coalition
With less than a month left until Sweden's September 13th election, the Centre Party is now going all-in on aiming to attract voters to its "Middle Alternative", with its dream government consisting of the centre-left Social Democrats, the right-wing Christian Democrats, possibly the centre-left Green Party – and obviously the Centre Party itself.
A strong lead for the opposition parties over the ruling Tidö coalition – which includes the Christian Democrats – in several opinion polls has prompted the Centre Party to pivot its campaign, targeting undecided centrist voters.
"If Tidö crashes, they haven't said they won't consider other options after the election," Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist told TT.
"Our alternative is perceived as much more sensible now. We have been talking about this middle option since January, but back then it sounded so outlandish that no one was interested," she said.
In the latest poll by Verian on behalf of public broadcaster SVT, the Centre Party rose to eight percent, an uptick Thand Ringqvist puts down to many centrist voters not wanting to give influence to the Left Party or the far-right Sweden Democrats.
For both the Centre Party and the Left Party, it will be crucial to emerge as the larger party to gain more leverage in potential coalition negotiations with Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson – which could determine whether a new Social Democrat-run government leans to the right or the left. The Centre Party has rejected the Left Party's only demand for seats in the government, putting the two parties at odds.
The Centre Party's middle alternative relies on the involved parties agreeing on a series of joint projects aimed at boosting employment and cutting emissions. Another demand is to introduce a new target into the fiscal framework – a growth target of at least 2.5 percent over an economic cycle.
But Green Party co-leader Amanda Lind criticised the proposed setup.
"I am surprised that they have this idea of a right-leaning government and are ready to sell out the climate for that dream," she told the Aftonbladet newspaper. "It is simply unreasonable for the Centre Party and Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist to think that a government with the Christian Democrats would be good for the climate." (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: middle alternative/option – mittenalternativ
Measles cases double in Sweden following festival outbreak
The measles outbreak following the Urkult folk festival has now doubled to 21 confirmed cases – an increase of 10 since Tuesday.
"It is very unusual for us to see this type of outbreak in Sweden," acting state epidemiologist Erik Sturegård told the TT news agency.
All known cases are directly linked to the festival, which took place from July 30th to August 2nd in Sollefteå municipality. A majority of those infected are children under the age of 18.
"It is an illness that can cause very severe disease, even in otherwise healthy children," said Sturegård.
Cases have been reported from the regions of Jämtland Härjedalen, Skåne, Stockholm, Västerbotten, Gotland, Värmland and now also Västernorrland – which previously had no confirmed cases despite hosting the festival.
A major widespread outbreak is unlikely in Sweden, which boasts a 95 percent immunisation coverage. The vaccine is included in Sweden's national childhood vaccination programme.
In most of the reported cases, the individuals were not vaccinated against the virus.
"Even though we have 95 percent vaccination coverage in the childhood vaccination programme, there are small pockets of people who, for various reasons, have not been reached by the vaccination drive or have chosen not to get vaccinated. Because measles is so extremely contagious, a small local outbreak can happen very easily," said Sturegård.
Privately-owned vaccine clinic chain Vaccin Direkt noted that the outbreak has triggered a sharp rise in the number of people seeking vaccination, reporting a 450 percent increase in administered doses compared to the same period last year. Those who have got vaccinated in recent days are mainly people born in the 1970s or earlier who have not received two doses through the national immunisation programme, but younger people are also booking appointments.
"People born after 1980 who were actually offered two doses of the measles vaccine through the national programme, but who for various reasons haven't completed these vaccinations," Charlotta Zacharias, a doctor at Vaccin Direkt, told TV4 Nyheterna. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: an outbreak – ett utbrott
Swedish police urge early passport renewals as 2.4 million set to expire
Will you need a new Swedish passport next year? Police are urging people to apply early to beat the queues.
Around 2.4 million Swedes will need to apply for a new passport before their current one expires in 2027. That's roughly half a million more than in a typical year – due to a surge in applications around 2022, when large numbers of people renewed their passports at the same time as post-pandemic travel resumed.
The police are now releasing additional booking slots and advising residents to renew within the coming months – even if their current passport is still valid.
"Our advice is to apply for a new passport in the coming months, and to do so even if your current passport is still valid, so you can avoid queueing later on. There are plenty of available appointment slots right now," said Paul Larsson, head of the police service department, in a press release.
Swedish vocabulary: a passport – ett pass
Swedish MP pressures migration minister on deportation of elderly Brits
An MP from the Left Party has submitted a written question to Migration Minister Johan Forssell asking what he is doing to prevent the deportation of elderly, vulnerable British citizens as a result of the UK's decision to leave the EU.
In the question, submitted to the parliament on August 18th and passed to Forssell on the 19th, the Left Party MP Håkan Svenneling asked Forssell if he intended to take any action to help these people and other British citizens in a similar situation.
"I would like to ask Migration Minister Johan Forssell: 'Is the minister prepared to take any initiative to stop the deportations of elderly people who have lived in Sweden for a long time?'" he wrote.
The UK's Guardian newspaper has in recent weeks publicised the imminent deportations of Joyce Thomas, a 78-year-old former nurse, and Horace "George" Mason, a 74-year old man living in a dementia home in Skövde, putting the issue of post-Brexit deportations back on the agenda.
Swedish vocabulary: a question – en fråga