King of Sweden mourns the passing of Norway's King Harald
Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf paid tribute to Norway's King Harald V, whose death at the age of 89 was announced on Friday.
"It is with great sadness that I have received the news of our dear friend, King Harald's passing," he said in a statement.
King Harald was deeply cherished by Norwegians throughout his 35-year reign.
He ascended the throne on January 17th, 1991 following the death of his father, King Olav V, ruling Norway for over three decades under the royal motto "Alt for Norge" (All for Norway).
"King Harald’s life story is exceptional. After enduring the hardships of war and exile in his childhood, he was able to return with his family to a free Norway and witness the nation’s remarkable development throughout the twentieth century, before succeeding his father as King of Norway," said King Carl XVI Gustaf.
The Scandinavian royal families are close, and the Swedish king is the godfather of Haakon, King Harald's eldest son, who will now succeed him.
"Throughout the years, King Harald has been a good friend to me, my family, and to Sweden. King Harald is now mourned by many in our country," said King Carl XVI Gustaf, extending his condolences to Queen Sonja.
"I wish my dear Godson Haakon, who now succeeds his father as Head of State, success and good fortune in the important role that lies ahead of him, in service to our brother nation and its people."
Swedish vocabulary: a king – en kung
Left Party leader insists on cabinet seats as Swedish election approaches
With just over two weeks to go before Sweden's September 13th election, Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar is betting on landing a spot in a Social Democrat-led government alongside the Green Party.
And she confirmed that the party will say no to any government that does not include the Left.
"If a government needs our seats, we are going to be in it," Dadgostar told the TT news agency, adding that they would welcome the Centre Party to join if their seats are needed for a majority (the Centre Party has previously said it would refuse to join a government together with the Left Party).
Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, however, appears to be less than keen to let the Left Party into government. Speaking recently in an interview with public radio broadcaster SR's Ekot, Andersson said the Left Party has a "huge job to do". She added that she was "very concerned" about a string of revelations regarding Left Party representatives celebrating Hamas and expressing anti-Semitism.
"Parties make mistakes and people express themselves inappropriately in all parties, including mine, but it happens far too regularly in the Left Party," Andersson said.
Yet voters, Dadgostar predicts, will force Andersson to bring the Left Party on board.
"Look, it's about securing a majority in the Swedish parliament. And our seats will be needed for that," she said.
"We have a historic opportunity right now to form a Social Democrat-Left-Green government that breaks with 20 years of a right-wing majority in parliament. Then we can finally pursue traditional Swedish left-wing policy."
Swedish vocabulary: a government – en regering
Record turnout on first day of early voting in Swedish election
More than 145,000 voters cast their ballots on the first day of early voting, marking a 38 percent increase compared to the 2022 election and a new record high, the Swedish Election Authority said.
"The Election Authority views it very positively that so many voters are taking advantage of early voting. Sweden has a long voting period, and it is beneficial if voting is spread across the entire timeframe to reduce the risk of long queues closer to election day," said Anna Nyqvist, an official at the Election Authority.
Early voting in Sweden kicked off on August 26th and remains open through election day on September 13th.
"The Nordstan [shopping centre] in Gothenburg is the polling station which received most early votes yesterday, in total 1,285 votes," said Nyqvist.
Swedish vocabulary: Election Authority – Valmyndigheten
Swedish households in better mood as economic outlook improves
Swedish households are feeling notably brighter about the economy, with consumer sentiment now stronger than normal, according to the latest monthly survey from the National Institute of Economic Research.
The overall so-called barometer indicator rose to 105.1 in August, up from 104.6 in July.
"Households' mood got a boost in August and is now back to normal levels for the first time since November 2024," the institute wrote in a press release.
The consumer confidence indicator climbed to 98.0, up from 97.2 the previous month.
Meanwhile, Statistics Sweden reports GDP growth of 1.6 percent in the second quarter of this year compared with the previous quarter. Adjusted for seasonal effects and compared to the second quarter of last year, growth stood at 3.3 percent.
Swedish vocabulary: households – hushåll