Despite the absence of my favourite Swedish pear cider, I was almost compelled to prepare a short article after watching Michael Porttillo’s Long Weekend in Stockholm on SBS Television (19 May 2025).
Michael Portillo speaks from a critical structuralist perspective. He entertains viewers with visits to Royal Palaces and folksy communities like Waxhom in the archipelago close to Stockholm. Dropping into the Royal Palace in Stockholm abuzz with preparations for a banquet to honour President Macron was certainly not for the everyday tourist. This documentary peeks behind the social democratic façade of Sweden without ignoring the folksy street culture of the adjacent islands.
Preparing for a Lavish Banquet in Stockholm
My own perceptions of Stockholm had a more modernist perspective which did not include a visit to the island archipelagos near Stockholm. I stayed at the University of Stockholm at Universitetet on one of the amazing Northern Metro lines which had been tunneled through archaic bedrock of Stockholm:
Social Democracy Embedded in Metro Links Across Stockholm
I certainly missed out on the wooden houses in narrow streets on Vaxholm (also spelt Waxholm) with its backdrop of the Fortress and beaches lapped by cold waters (Waxholm, Silent Walk Around the gateway to the Stockholm archipelago, rainy day-YouTube).
Much has changed in Sweden’s economic diplomacy and geopolitics has totally changed since my visit. Sweden’s Social Democratic Government is out of office since 2022. Its next election test will arrive on 13 September 2026. The Swedish Social Democrats have been in government for almost eighty years since 1932. Irregular swings produced temporary more conservative coalition governments between 1991-94, 2006-14 and now since 2022. This election was more than a temporary anomaly.
If the Social Democrats are prepared to align themselves with the Greens and the Left Party, the Centrist coalition parties could be out of office in 2026. However, the Swedish electorate is now highly fractured. The Social Democrats are a notch above their 2022 results. Support for Ukraine has sustained the centrist parties which are holding their votes according to opinions published by Politico-Poll of the Polls. As in Australia in 2025, Sweden’s political future will depend on the dynamics of the election campaign as support for the Centrist Government is holding up.
Sweden and Finland are now NATO Members and part of the US Global Alliance. The application to join NATO was made while the Social Democrats were still in government. Ulf Kristersson now leads a centrist coalition government.
The speed of Sweden’s transition from non-alignment to the US Global Alliance through NATO was quite incredible. Interested readers can do a quick search on Gemini Google Bard for the details after registration with that site:
- May 2022: Sweden, along with Finland, submitted its application for NATO membership. This was a historic move, breaking with decades of neutrality.
- March 11, 2024: The Swedish flag was raised at NATO Headquarters in Brussels in a ceremony marking its membership. Similar ceremonies took place at NATO commands across Europe and North America.
As of late March 2025, Sweden has significantly increased its military assistance to Ukraine, demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression. The most recent and largest military aid package, announced on March 31, 2025, is valued at approximately SEK 16 billion (around $1.6 billion USD).
As in other European countries, there is fierce discussion about which weapons should be supplied to assist Ukraine. DW News from Berlin (18 May 2025) offered sections of this documentary to introduce the horrific weapons being used against Russian installations.
Sweden’s transition towards neoliberalism also commenced under the Social Democrats prior to September 2024. The transition was painful for a country that had once been an economic and social miracle through extraordinary levels of public sector involvement that still occurs in nearby Denmark:
Sweden Back on Track Again? Showing Percentage Quarterly Changes in GDP
The Australian economy is more of a miracle today with a lean public sector of just 27 percent of GDP. Sweden had a public sector that amounted to 46 percent of GDP as late as 2014. This has been trimmed back to 33 percent by both sides of politics.
In far-off Sweden, future transitions towards neoliberalism have become more difficult by President Trump’s commitments to tariff walls and militarism globally. Despite erratic U-turns from the White House, UN Agencies continue to warn of dire consequences for middle powers like Sweden which are losing big elements of their national sovereignty. The United Nation’s Trade and Development Agency (UNCTAD) issued the following warning on 6 May 2025:
Uncertainty around global trade policy, particularly US President Donald Trump’s frequent and shifting tariff impositions, is pushing the global economy towards a recession, UN researchers warn.
A report by UN Trade & Development (UNCTAD) says that in April, “concerns over the global economic context and the impact of trade policy shifts have translated into major financial turbulence”.
Global economic growth is now projected to reach 2.3% this year, below the common 2.5% threshold needed to avoid global recession, the report says.
Growth rates across the Americas are particularly low, with the two continents only expected to grow by 1.2% this year, down from 2.6% in 2024.
The trade policy uncertainty index, a measure of media coverage given to the topic, is at historic highs and currently stands at more than double the levels reached during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Conservative populist political movements globally are ready to blame progressive governments for every negative in developed economies with particular attention to migration movements caused by global turmoil and security problems at home.
Sweden is no exception under the government of Ulf Kristersson as noted by the newsroom of Modern Diplomacy less than a year after the election of Sweden’s centrist government (15 October 2023):
Like other civilized countries, Sweden has had a legal prohibition against this very use of the armed forces. The law banning police-style operations by military units was reinforced after an incident in 1931 where an army unit opened fire on workers on strike in Ådalen in northern Sweden.
The fact that Mr. Kristersson now wants to include the military in the state’s efforts to uphold law and order is nothing short of sensational. When viewed in the context of the statements by police commissioners Götblad and Poljarevius, the prime minister’s consultations with the commander in chief of the armed forces is a sign of desperation.
His government came into power a year ago. Since then, they have apparently realized how deeply and thoroughly Mr. Kristersson’s predecessors allowed the problem of organized crime to slip out of their hands.
After having looked at the problem from every angle, Mr. Kristersson and his government have found no other solution than to rely on a state’s last resort for asserting its monopoly of force: the military.
The rest of Europe must understand the gravity of this situation. The government of Sweden no longer has a functioning monopoly of force within its borders. No sane government enrolls the military in fighting crime – organized or not – unless the civilian law enforcement functions have been gravely eroded or been corrupted beyond reliability.
Locally, the problems of Citizenship Education in a stressful neoliberal society have been shared by educational initiatives at Brisbane SHS. This topic was well covered on a recent 7.30 Report (12 May 2025) and ABC News Clips (18 May 2025):
Inspiring participation in democracy requires more such local action. Here in Brisbane, the legions of homeless people are being moved on by the LNP’s Brisbane City Council with support from law enforcement authorities and security firms (ABC News Brisbane 21 March 2025):
Governments are investing in AI resources to keep policy makers more fully informed of economic and social developments. Now in office with after a surreal landslide, the Albanese Government should open these databases selectively to media networks and the wider public to promote active citizenship education and fact-checking. In the meantime, readers can take a look at the media monitoring offered by the friendly robots at Gemini Google Bard and other brands of critical information quests. Only the rabid conservative populists might be offended.
Contemporary social and economic problems in developed countries were highly evident in US streetscapes as narcissistic politics generated acute problems of homelessness and mental anxieties. These problems have been exported globally and afflict Sweden and Australia alike. Our salvation comes from Aussie Street culture. Helping hands are usually offered without too many legalistic protocols embedded in privacy fixations.
A popular soft drift transmits new friends on its drink bottles to link friendship networks with the global sugary beverage. Our voices of the street offer more sustainability in the traditions of Henry Lawson (1867-1922):
Denis Bright (pictured) is a financial member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). Denis is committed to consensus-building in these difficult times. Your feedback from readers advances the cause of citizens’ journalism. Full names are not required when making comments. However, a valid email must be submitted if you decide to hit the Replies Button.
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Having lived in Sweden over 50 years ago, it has saddened me to see it adopt neoliberal policies. So much that contributed to public security has been sacrificed in the pursuit of profit over public welfare.
Thanks for the comment Perry. I visited Sweden briefly out of respect for its modernist public policies, An economic miracle once achieved by the Social Democrats with added opposition to global militarism. Although Michael Portello comes from the other side of conservative politics, his documentary presentation was quite enlightening. I was not seeking places like Waxholm. That was my blindspot.
In its quest for modernist and pragmatic economic policies, the Enskilda Banken is still issuing media statements and invitations globally (20 May 2025):
This May 2025 edition of Investment Outlook also includes two newsworthy theme articles:
• Infrastructure investments – a path to economic growth
• Global trade – major transition if world trade imbalances are to be adjusted (previously published in Nordic Outlook)
You will find the full report, plus a video, at http://www.seb.se/investmentoutlookreport.
For further information, contact:
Fredrik Öberg, CIO, Private Wealth Management & Family Office, SEB
+46 70 767 6179
fredrik.oberg@seb.se
Readers can take a look at these resources and realise that my concerns are mainstream concerns. Both our countries can and should continue to push above their weight globally in troubled times.
Both Australia and Sweden have an important role to play in asserting national sovereignty in an increasingly imperial world of Want to Be Wizards.who control other countries with tariffs and weapon sales including scarry robotic devices and automatic electronic drones while others live on the brink of starvation.
Let’s hope the social democrats will make it back in 2026
Your article establishes rapport with Sweden with its population of just less than 11 million.
Conservative coalitions seem to have an obsession with nuclear power plants.;Sweden had a policy to phase out nuclear power, but this has been repealed. The current government has a plan to expand nuclear power, aiming to construct two large-scale reactors by 2035 and the equivalent of 10 new reactors (including small modular reactors) by 2045
Thanks for an interesting commentary about the Swedish economy.