No, I didn’t wake up Monday after the 2014 election breathing more easily. I did not.
It's raining tonight and the wind is picking up, they say a storm i coming. After weeks of late summer sun and summer temperatures the evening is suddenly darker and fall is arriving this very moment. It seems appropriate, considering.
It's raining tonight and the wind is picking up, they say a storm i coming. After weeks of late summer sun and summer temperatures the evening is suddenly darker and fall is arriving this very moment. It seems appropriate, considering.
Politically this last week has been the most chaotic and unpredictable one in Swedish history for about 40 years. I won’t, and can’t (who knows what’s going on behind the curtains of the political stage?) outline the details, but here is a general overview.
So, we went to bed late Sunday night thinking we would wake up with a red/green minority government. Not ideal. Now, personally I am red/green, so as far as that I was happy, but the idea of the social conservative racist party Sverigedemokraterna as the balance of power was horrifying to anyone in Sweden except for the 13% (!) who voted for them.
Monday came though with a very unexpected turn as Stefan Lövén, the leader of the Social Democrats (about 30% of the Swedish vote) immediately shut the door to govern with the Left Party! Miljöpartiet, the Swedish green party, was invited for discussions, but the Left Party was left in the cold.
Instead he wanted to talk to the middle parties Centerpartiet and Folkpartiet for support. His idea for governing is the Social Democrats and the green party as a minority government with support from the middle parties. But as the middle parties up until Sunday (actually still as the new government is far from all set yet) have governed with the right and the christian democrats in The Alliance, they aren’t interested talking to Stefan Lövén. At least this was the situation on Thursday.
And in the middle of all this Sverigedemokraterna who as the third (!) biggest party now will hold the second vice Speaker post in the parliament, and who no one wants to talk to.
And would there be the possibility of the Social Democrats in bed with the right wing???!
I am confused, concerned and deeply worried.
I was hoping for a clear red/green government bringing back Sweden to being the country where we take care of each other. Bringing back the foundation of the strongest Swedish brand. I sure can understand the left party feeling deceived: them, the green party and the Social Democrats standing side by side all through the election campaign, against The Alliance. Even I feel betrayed!
A couple of days before the election Trouble 2 posted on Facebook: I wish the election was over, I can’t take much more. I want so badly everything changing for the better. I want so badly Sweden to be okay.
I couldn’t agree more.
Better meaning a country where there is room and life for everyone, ethnicity, unemployed, religion, sick, gender, unfortunate, young and old, strong and fragile. That’s what we were hoping for. That’s what we were wishing for Sunday evening a week ago.
No one could have predicted that nothing would be okay the morning after. And that nationalistic, social conservative and no doubt about it racist values are spreading like malignant cancer across our country. No, Sweden is not okay.
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