Swedish government down in polls after two years

Halfway into its term, Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing coalition government enjoys far less support than it did at the time it was elected, at least in the opinion polls.

The site “Ada poll-of-polls” which compiles a series of polls shows the government polling at 29.1 percent – down 2.7 percentage units compared to two years ago.

If you include its far-right Sweden Democrat backers, it’s down 3.5 percentage units.

But Kristersson is hardly unique from a recent historical perspective. In the past three decades, almost no government managed to improve its result two years after it began its term.

What speaks in his favour is also that you have to go back several decades to find any government in Sweden that wasn’t reelected at least once, so his Moderates, the Liberals and Christian Democrats may yet win voters back over.

Swedish vocabulary: an opinion poll – en opinionsundersökning

New rules set to change textile recycling in Sweden

From the start of next year, you’re no longer allowed to bin textiles with the rest of your household waste in Sweden. Items such as old socks or pillowcases that are no longer useable will have to be recycled in a separate bin, just like glass, plastic and paper, state the new rules.

But much about the new rules remains unclear. Swedish municipalities are expected to initially be responsible for sorting textile waste, but in autumn the EU parliament is expected to vote on a new law about making producers of textile products responsible for their recycling.

“The new proposal means that each member state gets to decide their producer responsibility,” said Jon Nilsson-Djerf, an advisor at Swedish Waste Management.

This means that municipalities are unwilling to make significant investment in the logistics of recycling clothes and other textiles, because they don’t yet know to what extent they will be in charge of sorting products. 

But you may as well start getting used to not discarding old socks in your regular waste bin at home.

Swedish vocabulary: waste – avfall

Swedes’ use of cash decreasing at a rapid rate

Swedes are withdrawing less and less cash, as you may already have noticed.

In the first six months of 2024, each Swede withdrew on average 398 kronor a month.

But the downward trend isn’t just continuing, but spiralling. Cash withdrawals decreased by 13 percent in the first six months of the year, a faster pace than the average 10 percent decrease they’ve seen annually in the past few years.

“I’m seriously worried about the development,” said Johan Nilsson, marketing director of cash machine firm Bankomat, in a statement.

He argues that there’s a vicious circle. Falling demand leads to companies limiting their cash service, which makes it harder for consumers to use cash, which in turn leads to falling demand.

There’s an ongoing government-commissioned inquiry into making cash more available in Sweden. The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency also urges Swedes to keep a stash of cash at home and use cash “every now and then” to train their preparedness if there’s a crisis or war.

Swedish vocabulary: cash – kontanter