It was election night in Sweden yesterday so I'll take this opportunity to sing the praises of it's political system.
At the time of writing votes are being counted for the 2022 Swedish election and it looks to be a close race between the two main coalitions vying for a majority in the Riksdag. I want to take the opportunity to praise the Swedish model of democratic politics, and I would argue that there are lessons to draw from for other Western democracies. As in many other Western democracies the past decade has been marked by a shift towards the anti-immigrant right. A consistent reaction from the traditional parties has been to shut out the new forces motivated by a discomfort with the nationalist undertones such movements tend to have. The problem with that strategy is undemocratic and the fact is that such strategies haven’t been very effective. Compared to two-party systems like the ones in the US, UK, and France’s presidential elections it’s nice to have the space for nuance that multi-party systems offer. Polarisation kills nuance and I strongly believe that including a wider range of actors and ideas lead to both better policies and a more constructive political landscape.
I’ll go back to watching the valvaka and I’ll be back with a more substantial blog post next week.
If you liked this post you can read a previous post about the war in Ukraine here or the rest of my writings here. It would mean a lot to me if you recommended the blog to a friend or coworker. Come back next Monday for a new post!
I've always been interested in politics, economics, and the interplay between. The blog is a place for me to explore different ideas and concepts relating to economics or politics, be that national or international. The goal for the blog is to make you think; to provide new perspectives.
Written by Karl Johansson
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