Sweden in Focus

This week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ subscribers features an interview with Bo Rothstein, co-founder of the Quality of Government Institute at Gothenburg University.

Now an emeritus professor at the university, Rothstein remains a leading researcher on social trust. 

In the interview he gives his view on why trust in government institutions – and other people – has stayed high in Sweden over the decades even as society has undergone dramatic changes. 

But he also cautions against complacency, pointing to formerly high-trust societies where trust entered into rapid decline after reaching a tipping point from which it became hard to return. 

The Local's Nordic editor Richard Orange spoke to Bo Rothstein about what's sometimes referred to as the 'Nordic gold' – and what Sweden can do ensure it keeps its value.

READ ALSO:

• 'Sweden has changed fundamentally but the level of trust is the same' 
• Which companies do Swedes trust the most? 
• OPINION: To protect Sweden’s democracy, trust is not enough 

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In this week's episode we look at what makes Sweden such a trusting society.

We also discuss Muharrem Demirok's decision to step down as Centre Party leader and what it means for the future of a party that's currently siding with the left but has previously allied itself with the right.

And why has a supreme court ruling on European data protection drawn howls of protest from Swedish publishers?

Host Richard Orange is joined this week by regular panelists Emma Löfgren and James Savage. 

• 'Sweden has changed fundamentally but the level of trust is the same'
• Which companies do Swedes trust the most?

• Swedish Centre Party leader Muharrem Demirok to step down
• Could a new Centre Party leader determine Sweden's next PM?

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In this week's episode we talk about how Sweden is reacting to the United States’ dramatic foreign policy pivot on Europe. What are Swedish politicians saying after US Vice President JD Vance kickstarted a week of new lows in US-Europe relations?  

We also look at the planned closure of an international upper-level high school in Stockholm and speak to Abdirahim Mohammed, the student who launched a petition calling for action to save the school.

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• 'Ice in the stomach': Swedish politicians react to Trump's new world order
• Will Europe match words with actions after being sidelined by Trump?
• Swedish word of the day: is i magen

• IES to close Stockholm flagship school leaving 159 students stranded
• What's it like to work as a foreign teacher at Swedish free school chain IES?

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

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In this week's episode: Reader reactions to Örebro mass murder, and why a gun law debate sparked fury among Sweden Democrats. For Membership+ subscribers: What would make the government rethink a plan to apply citizenship law changes retroactively to current applicants? And why the King revealed the wrong name for a new Swedish princess.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Emma Löfgren and James Savage. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• OPINION: It's down to Sweden's lawmakers to help immigrants feel less vulnerable
• FULL LIST: What we know of the ten victims of the Örebro campus attack
• Did the prime minister find his inner statesman?
• Sweden to allow schoolbag searches after mass shooting

• Top Sweden Democrat steps down after party pushes ahead with AR-15 ban
• Sweden to limit access to semi-automatic weapons after mass shooting

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

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We're releasing the podcast earlier than usual this week to bring you up to date information on this week's horrific shooting in Örebro that left eleven people dead. 

We also look at why Sweden’s government wants to make the new citizenship rules retroactive and how applicants are reacting.

In the longer version for Membership+ subscribers we give you the lowdown on sportlov, the annual Swedish school break that sees families leave the cities en masse for the northern slopes and, finally, we dig into why the government is planning to give foreign experts bigger tax cuts.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• 'Multiple nationalities' among victims in Swedish mass shooting: police
• What we know so far about the Örebro campus attack

• Swedish government to make new citizenship rules retroactive
• UPDATED: Readers' questions answered on Sweden's citizenship reforms

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

• Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription. 

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We start this week with news that broke just before we started recording the episode. The victims of two separate murders in the greater Stockholm region on Wednesday were revealed to be, in the first killing in Husby, an uncle of organised crime chief Rawa Majid and, in Södertälje, Salwan Momika, who was behind a quran-burning spree in 2023. Coming at the end of a record month for explosive attacks, how serious is the current crime wave and what's being done to stop it?

We also look at why Sweden’s national security adviser finally resigned and what it means for the government, why a Swedish police tactical unit boarded a ship in the Baltic. And, taking a breaking from the news, we learn how to speak Swedish like a Scanian.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Emma Löfgren and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Quran-burner Salwan Momika shot dead in Stockholm
• Social Democrats: Turn all of southern Stockholm into one big stop-and-search zone
• Swedish police warn parents to keep eyes on kids after wave of violence

• Politics in Sweden: Why carelessness isn't the only issue with the PM's 'bästis'

• 'I think it's the Russians': Swedish defence expert on cable sabotage

• 17 dialect words you'll need to know to survive in southern Sweden

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This week we’re going to test our panelists’ Swedish language knowledge by throwing a few questions at them from the vocabulary section of Högskoleprovet, the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test that students can take as an entrance exam for Swedish universities.

The questions in this episode are taken from a test that university applicants took in autumn 2015. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by Becky Waterton and James Savage.

READ ALSO:

• SWEDISH TEST: Can you pass the vocab part of Sweden's version of the SAT? 
• What you need to know about applying to university in Sweden 
• The seven stages of learning Swedish every foreigner goes through 

Sign up for Membership+ now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

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This week we talk about Donald Trump's return to the White House and how it’s going to impact Sweden, especially in the areas of trade and security. And could the Tesla strike become a flashpoint with Elon Musk now a part of the US administration? 

One Swede who was in the United States recently is the deputy prime minster Ebba Busch. We discuss her recent visit to Las Vegas where she gave a rousing speech about Swedish innovation that sparked animated debate back home.

We’ll also examine why the Prime Minister is coming under increasing pressure to sack his national security adviser, who also happens to be his close childhood friend. 

For Membership+ subscribers we dig into comments we’ve received from readers about proposals to extend the waiting time for citizenship and we bring you the latest on the government’s plans to increase the salary requirement for work permit holders after the employment minister said he’d be open to backtracking.

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and James Savage. 

• What does Donald Trump's return to the White House mean for Sweden?

• From 2023: Sweden ranked second most innovative country in the world

• Sweden's national security adviser's slip-ups examined by prosecutors

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription. 

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Sweden's government promised a paradigm shift on immigration and this was a week in which they moved ahead with some cornerstone policies. 

As we spoke about in last week's podcast, enhanced security checks are expected to slow down decisions on citizenship by a migration authority already struggling to manage a backlog of more than 80,000 applications. 

The head of a government inquiry this week recommended a grace period for existing applicants as Sweden moves to extend residency requirements from five to eight years for citizenship. In this week's episode politicians remind us that they're not obliged to follow the inquiry's recommendations. 

For Membership+ subscribers we discuss why dual citizenship is on the agenda this week after a parliamentary committee recommended changing the constitution to enable the revocation of Swedish citizenship for serious crimes including espionage, terrorism and treason. But a disagreement between the government and the Social Democrats on which crimes should be covered suggests this is an issue we'll be hearing much more about in the run-up to the 2026 election. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Emma Löfgren and James Savage. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Swedish government inquiry proposes increasing citizenship wait to eight years
• KEY POINTS: Sweden's plans for tougher citizenship rules
• Readers' questions answered on Sweden's citizenship reforms
• How do foreigners feel about extending Sweden's citizenship wait to eight years?
• Swedish migration minister won't rule out making new citizenship rules retroactive

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

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Migration minister on citizenship security checks, January's 'ox weeks', citizenship and immigration rule changes, Northvolt's battle for survival. For membership+ subscribers: why Sweden has a wolf hunt, and what readers say about receiving wrong information from the Migration Agency. 

Host Paul O’Mahony is joined this week by regular panelists Becky Waterton and Emma Löfgren. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Labour migrants 'should not be worried at all' about citizenship checks, says minister

• Tjugonde Knut: Why Swedish Christmas lasts until January 13th
• Swedish word of the day: oxveckorna

• Seven things to look forward to in Sweden in 2025

• Northvolt shareholders give company green light to continue operations

• Sweden to launch wolf cull amid conservation concerns

• How often does Sweden's Migration Agency give out false information?
• How does the Swedish Migration Agency check that its information is accurate?

Sign up now and get early, ad-free access to a full-length episode of the Sweden in Focus podcast every weekend, as well as Sweden in Focus Extra every Wednesday.

Please visit the link that applies to you and get a 40% discount on Membership+

• For signed-in members: Upgrade to Membership+
• For new members: Get Membership+ 

Read more about Membership+ in our help centre.

Already have Membership+ but not receiving all the episodes? Go to the podcast tab on your account page to activate your subscription. 

Become a member at https://www.thelocal.se/podcasts/podcast-offer?tpcc=padlock.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.