Red is the socialist colour in most countries I think

You can't use the word liberal to mean left in European politics. Left is socialist and liberal is well, liberal.

More liberal does not mean being further to the left. In European politics liberal parties are commonly in the middle or leaning right of center. Social democrats and socialists are on the left side of politics here.

3:45 Jag tror det har att göra med inkomst och jobb i Sverige. I storstäder speciellt Stockholm där inkomsten är högre och många företagare bor röstar man höger eftersom man vill ha sänkt skatt och gynna företagande. Medan på landsbygden bor fler "arbertare" eller vad man ska säga, därför röstar många på socialdemokraterna eftersom dom vill gynna arbetarklassen och höja deras villkor och standard.

10:27 "..yet *WE* still have a king" Subconsciously, you've started to think of yourself as somewhat Swedish? You're welcome to do so 😁

Using the Word ”liberal” and ”conservative” in an American way as a synonym to left and right is a bit weird in a Swedish context. E.g. the Social Democrats are fairly conservative. That’s why they are pretty popular in the countryside. Remember, conservatism has nothing to do with left vs right or taxes. It has to do with preserving the status quo, and the social democrats have governed for almost 100 years and are the definition of the status quo in Sweden. When they govern, very little changes. Equally, liberalism is an ideology about freedom and not synonymous with leftism. The liberal parties are the greens, center and the, well, liberals. Low taxes, personal freedom etc. These parties are basically the same as the democrats, as you noticed. They are not conservative because they want to fundamentally change Swedish society away from social democracy into liberalism and often look at the US as a model. The Conservative right wing parties (M, KD) are to the economic right like the liberals, but more aligned with the social democrats on many conservative issues and try to out do them there. So basically, you have conservatives on both the left and the right in Sweden, and “woke” progressives as well.

Stefan, you really need to get a grip with the difference between socialism and social democracy.

Maybe one of your best videos. As a Swede, I really only have one ‘problem’ with it and this is the use of the term ‘liberal’. I do know that liberal has a different meaning in the US than in Europe and for most of us - certainly for myself- to be liberal is the very opposite of being a socialist. And most certainly on the ‘blue’ side here in Sweden.

King Carl XVI Gustaf turns 75 tomorrow on April 30th 2021.

This is just my experience and my thoughts, so no stone hard facts. But when you were talking about how the rural areas of Sweden are so far left while in the US they're right I just felt like sharing this! Me and my family are from the far north (mostly Gällivare), and socialism has been very important in order for the cities to even survive. A lot of people were poor, and my family was no exception, they were so poor that they couldn't afford a funeral when my great grandfather died. And if I remember correctly my grandparents families used to get milk delivered for free so that the kids in the families wouldn't get malnourished, I don't remember if this was something that the mine financed or if it was the state, but none the less helping each other has always been very important in the poor and harsh parts of the country. I am no expert when it comes to economy and politics (nor history), but I would say that leaning towards socialism is to be conservative in those places, because socialism is what built them.

One thing that I think adds to your confusion is the typical American misconception that "liberal" means left-wing, when in actuality it's a center-right ideology (which is accurate for the US Democrats). There's also the misconception that right-wing = conservative and left-wing = progressive, when they're actually completely separate (right/left is economics, while conservative/progressive is social). As an example with Swedish parties, the Liberals are right-wing/progressive, while the Christian Democrats are right-wing/conservative (all of our big left-wing parties happen to also lean towards progressivism, but it doesn't have to always be that way).

Respect for being honest about your political leanings!

Yeah, I've never heard anyone here in Sweden complain about their salary in regards to taxes. I'm a teacher and I make loads of money after taxes, so it's not like I'm MISSING the money I'm not getting paid out... it would cost me SO much more to have to pay for medical care and so on... and it goes to my retirement money, and when I'm sick I can just stay home from work, no problem... and people who have kids would struggle having to pay for school meals, dental care and so on. I don't even have to think about saving money for those kinds of things...

As a swede, This was very interesting to watch!

Hi from Melbourne ,super interesting videos. I love hearing about your experience in Sweden. Very interesting and insightful.

Your best video yet, so on point, it's all true! Amazed that you have found such a clear view of how it works here (many people, even Swedes do not understand this). Most good, some strange, some bad, but still good (compared to many countries). Ok I am biased. High taxes, sure, but no expensive school or insursnce making us more equal. A kid that has really poor parents but is really smart has (mostly) the same opporunities as a rich kid. I think some basic stuff should be run by the government, the infrastucture enabeling more money and wellfare (transportation, healthcare, school, etc). Cheers from Gothenburg.

The king is rather a morality boost, at least for me :P He's funny XD And seems like a decent dude :P

Great points! As for me the weirdest things in US are the death penalty, the many anti-abortionists, the fact that you can go bankrupt if you get sick and the liberal gun laws.

I started checking out your videos when you were based in Norrköping, but I still love your videos even though you abandoned this pretty city! But really, it's interesting to see how you view Sweden compared to the US

This analysis was so interesting thx Stefan!

Hey Stefan, i'm kinda a new here in your channel but it's really nice to see your videos because i'm too i'm trying to move to Sweden, but one thing i don't know that you know about the political compass (that is a one way of measuring ideology) is that the US major political parties can be divided in "left" or "right" but that's not true if you see ideology in the world, so if you see what is considered left or right in a wide sense probably the US major parties would be on the right alignment and the differences would exactly the more conservative and liberal. So if you are more aligned with a Libertarian Ideology it's really not a surprised that you are more right-forward, it's just how the spectrum works! There's a lot of ways of "measuring" ideology, there's no quite right or wrong here because it's a little abstract in some kind of way on what you're looking at and what you're looking for.

5:25 that's because we've been practicing social distancing our whole lives. We were born for this 😄

We have a monarchy because of historical tradition. The same as our neighboring countries Denmark and Norway. UK, Netherlands and Spain also have a monarchy. The French monarchy ended with Napoleon in power. Many other countries monarchies ended with occupation, dictatorship or they are newly sovereign states like Finland and Estonia etc. Or other reasons and so on. :)

Interesting. Thanks for sharing and your insight. Enjoy your day!

@Stefan Thyron You often talk about how much of your money disappears into taxes. But have you done an actual comparison between what you get for your salary in sweden vs USA? As in not measuring your salary in dollars or crowns, but measuring it in goods and services you get when using your salary. Because I am quite sure the standard of living is high in sweden. Which means swedes get a lot for their salary.

I love the fact that we can vote on the party we like the most without the fear of losing our vote. I have heard so many americans saying they like the libertarian party but cant vote on it because it is a "lost vote".

Very informative and interesting!

Ontario Canada also has a govt owned liquor store (LCBO), very little alcohol is sold in private stores (only a few that sell Ontario wines). Beer is sold in beer stores owned by a consortium of the beer producers.

Considering what is happening in the states now and for the last four and some years I think the "wierdness" of our politics pale in comparison.

The red/blue thing in the US is as far as I know relatively new, and a result of the introduction of colour tv. It just happened that some large network started using the colours that have become standard now. There is no real reason for it.

Thank you for your view of Sweden/US! It is very interesting to hear the comparisons and your very balanced view, positive and negative about the different systems. When it comes to taxes; they have gradually been higher and higher for almost a century, so few swedes can imagine a society with low taxes. All are so used to it (man vänjer sig).

Interesting observations!

Are you aware of that about 30% of the tax your employer pays on top of your wage (arbetsgivaravgift eg. statlig skatt) goes to fund your retirement plan?

i cant speak for every1, but i enjoy our taxes, given all they contribute to in our country wouldnt want to live anywhere else

Great and interesting video! 👍

Had been fun to see what you are working with here in Sweden? maybe you could vlog a workday?

You have made some great observations. There are explanations to some of these issues that don't necceraly correlate to ideology but to history. For example, in Sweden the government didn't have the mandate to issue a complete lockdown because the constitution protects freedom of speech/the right to organise and demonstrate very high. Issuing a lockdown would prohibit it completely and is not in the government's right. Instead, the government made a temporary law that has the support of the whole parliament- all the parties - that mandates some restrictions on industries, public sector, right to protest etc. This is good because it means that Sweden doesn't take democracy for granted and the constitution protects the people from totalitarian rulers. With far less restrictions the government is relying on people taking own responsibility and in a country with high trust in its public institutions this strategy has worked in some ways well. I can understand that from an American perspective this sounds more like a conservative standpoint, perhaps correlating more to economic growth, but in Sweden freedom of speech and the right to organize protests is valued highly do to the working class fight for their rights in the beginning of the 20th century. I think it's great that you make these videos and reflect on the similarities and differences. If you wanna learn more on politics in Sweden vs US I'm sure we are a few nerds that can elaborate on it with you 😄

One thing many fail to understand is that if you have a child (for example) in Sweden you'll get a subsidy, while in the US you'll get a tax reduction. This makes the tax seem higher than what they really are, in practice

Very interesting video, there are some things you mentioned that I haven't thought of but at the same time so am I not that super involved in politics so I can't really say much, regards to that. My opinion of some of the rules and decisions might be because of part culture, and part population size. What I mean with that is that as you said, very liberal, but that doesn't mean we are 100% liberal. If you for example look at other political systems so are all politics a mix of different ideas and opinions of what works, and what doesn't for that specific country. That is very much so for Sweden as well, and it may also be easier because of our relatively small population, wealth, and political trust as to why some things are so weirdly mixed in regard to certain things. I believe it's years of looking at small changes to see what works best for Sweden and its population while still improving certain things that might be getting aged or changed because of the recent events that occur both nationally and globally.

This was interesting (I'm swedish). Great analysis 👍

Very interesting! I find I'm very similar to you with my politics abroad. In the US I'd vote Green, and I'd be considered super liberal, but in the UK I'm fairly moderate. It's not that my views have changed much, but that a lot of "crazy liberal" stuff in the US is just normal here. Like even most conservatives here agree we should have free, accessible health care and legal abortions. But economically I'm more conservative, so I end up leaning more right. Still would never vote Tory though (Conservative party, handled the pandemic shockingly), I have a soul.

Red was the colour of the international workers rights movement in the late 19th/early 20th century and became the symbolic colour of both socialism and communism. It's a complete mind**** for us Europeans to hear Americans talk about an area "going red" and remembering that to you that means conservative. It's like Denmark (I think?) who've decided to call the conservative end of the scale "left" and the socialist end of the scale "right" in complete disregard of the rest of the world ... 😂

The red vs. blue political color thing in the US is actually fairly recent. It's due to the color coded maps on TV election coverage. I don't recall the terms being used at all prior to 2000. Bush/Gore was a very close race, so there was much discussion of which way each state was voting- would it be colored in on the map in blue or in red, particularly Florida which wasn't decided until sometime in December. In the end, Florida went to Bush and the map was colored in in red, hence Florida becoming a 'red' state. The colors have no meaning or connection to international politics.

You really nailed this observation and I think about this a lot. Why things are almost the opposite around in Europe compared to the US. Even the Liberal Party (Liberalerna, or former Folkpartiet,) has always been with the blue team over here in Sweden, until the latest election when they formed an unconventional red, green and blue middle coalition. Liberalernas freedom policy can sometimes go against Socialdemokraternas traditional safety policy, in the field of employment and so on. Maybe there are something to draw from this, regarding your thoughts on income areas? Tradition can mean a lot of things depending where you come from.

A very sensitive subject to talk about, that was brave! In general I agree with all your points, drug policy is weird and taxes are too high. Legalisera mera!

We have basically no property tax, though, which you do have in most American states. That's just one of the _many_ reasons Swedish real estate prices are so insane, but it is a reason no less.

Very interesting. More of this kind. 😀

Very informative as usual, Stefan, thank you! BTW, just yesterday I came across one post about privacy in Sweden that really surprised me. Is it true that one can google an address, phone number and even a salary of a Swedish citizen?

The royal family is absolutely a good investment economically for Sweden to keep. The millions we spend are probably multiplied several times in terms of income from tourism. AND if someone thinks we wouldn´t spend that kind of money if we got rid of the royal family they are wrong. All the castles and mansions have such a high cultural and historic value that taxpayers money would have to pay for the maintainance anyways... Not to speak of the headlines they create globally, putting Sweden on the map. Thank you Carl Gustaf with family for advertising at a low cost.

I think the way you see the employer's tax is weird. The employer pays a tax, and you pay a tax. If there wasn't an employer's tax that money wouldn't go to you. So I don't think it is fair to say that you only get HALF of what you earn. Because you aren't earning those other 20%. Maybe you can think of it as the business sector paying society back for providing your worker with the competence. The tax payers did invest in every person's education after all, and that money has to come from somewhere. We all pay for each other's professional skills and education, and the business sector contributes.

Viewing things from neighbouring Denmark, I surprisingly found myself agreeing with more of these observations than I expected. For one, the urban/rural divide is much more similar to the one in the US, but I think that might also have to do with a lot of the countryside of Sweden being not very productive farmland or, simply, wilderness. In contrast, much of rural Denmark is extremely profitable farmland where farmers would collaborate and specialise in so-called "Andelsselskabe" ~ "cooperatives", which were very independent(/tax avoidant) because of their high profitability and being based on small, local societies where people would help each other and self-police (government programmes weren't necessary for them). An example of how they would work could be: Povl the cattle farmer produces milk and Hans the wheat farmer lets him use his out-of-season mill to churn butter in exchange for getting free fertilizer, instead of the two producing the same product at a higher cost for both of them. I imagine the rural US to be quite similar being so far removed from the seat of government in most cases. While Denmark doesn't have the same distances that the US does, most people are not situated on the same island as the government is, which makes isolationism much easier. In contrast, Sweden also has had a booming metal mining industry and the brutal conditions that miners have to endure tend to favour unionism and socialism. The only thing Denmark has ever mined is chalk, which is readily available at ground level. I guess a good US comparison would be one of the Midwest states vs West Virginia (which is still one of the most impoverished regions of the US). Additionally, Denmark doesn't have the same piety surrounding the consumption of alcohol, or drugs in general, that our Northern neighbours have, and I don't really know why that is so different, but I imagine it must have its roots in Lutheranism and its values of work ethic and sobriety and possibly the difference in climate: Swedish winters can be quite a bit harsher, and harsher times call for harsher methods of coping. Not that Danes are especially drink-adverse, but we tend to do it socially, rather than alone in a cabin in the woods(not saying that's what all Swedish people do of course.) Anyway, I apologise for this overlong comment, but I found the video to be very interesting and informative.

Good vid! For everyone's benefit - There is a term in the US that is used called "Classic Liberalism" that is used to denote more closely the economic liberalism that we find in Europe. Regarding the drug policies, these stem from the historical problems Sweden has faced with alcohol which were quite serious some one hundred years ago. The word "communist" is very much a "negative" word for most of the Swedish citizenry.

Most democratic countries have more than two parties to vote for, only the United States (what I know) has only two political wings/parties to vote for (red or blue). It becomes very polarized and static and one thinks of historical events happen back in the United States.

The whole point of not having harsh restrictions was to leave responsibility of following guidelines to the citizens themselves. That way we make life easier by not setting down strict rules which messes with our daily lives while also adapting to the reality of the virus in a way which works for the individual. It is a great responsibility for every person and some care for it poorly but I myself am a believer of the rational human and that people only follow forced rules when someone is looking.

Very interesting video, Stefan! :)

I'm curious if having a king is costing money or earning more due to tourism. I'm not sure, but I would not be surprised if it was slightly net positive.

Hi can u do one about netherlands and sweden cuz i wanne meet friends in sweden but im autistic and i wanne know what to expect

Interesting insights! Color schemes of the left and right wings in Germany are similar to Sweden - maybe a European thing?

It would be nice if you could make a more in depth analysis of the political ideologies utbredning in sweden compoared to us

You are right about the taxes, but the 30% capital gains tax does not apply if you have yours stock and funds in a ISK account, called investeringssparkonto in swedish. The tax rate on that type of account is currently fixed at 0,375%. basically tax free :)

I live in Kansas. Try taking away farm subsidies, rural subsidies for road maintenance, etc - and you will find how socialistic they really are. They get subsidies if their crops fail, and if they don't. They are given subsidies for not planting anything.

About taxes; if you make under 33000 sek per month, you pay about 25 percent in taxes. The tax that your employer pay is money that is for you. Paid sick leave for example and parental leave.

You bring up many interesting points there. I can see the color scheme throwing you off. I can relate since I have followed American politics since Clinton/Bush years. I always saw the Swedish political blocks to represent the DNC and the RNC. I also think that Americans and Swedes differ quite a bit on what they consider to be socialistic. I think most Swedes just sees those ideas as something to expect in a democratic country. I think that Swedes are progressive when it comes to human rights when it comes to things like abortion comparatively with the US since we are so much more secular. But I think the drug culture is very different but it is here. It is much more common for teens to drink and smoke regular tobacco/sums than it is to smoke weed. I do believe also that most have just accepted Systembolaget even though I think most wouldn’t mind having it more like Denmark where you can buy hard liquor in most grocery stores.

Don't know anything about politics but i am a huge fan of the royal family I live in America but i just find it all sooo fascinating and i read blogs about them and watch their weddings on tv etc haha! I think Sweden and Denmark hands down have the BEST crown jewels in ALL of europe that all date back to Napolean who gifted them to his girlfriend. There's an amazing documentary about it with swedish and danish monarchs Queen of Sweden and Queen of Denmark and Princess Mary of Denmark who talk about them because they were disbursed amongst denmark and sweden (forget if other countries were involved too I only paid attention to sweden and denmark because theyr'e my 2 favorite royal families LOL! it's a great documentary! When Queen of Denmark said "We count the centuries, not the carats" I found this AMAZING and i just think that is so cool that they are wearing pieces that date back CENTURIES!

Bra video! Apropå Demokraterna och Republikanerna i USA och deras ideologier och partifärger, så har jag för mig att de har bytt sida under tidens gång. På 1800-talet var Demokraterna de konservativa och tvärt om!

You do teach me so much. You are a natural teacher. I've always thought; if we could all live in another country when we're young it would be so helpful to understand other people, etc. I was a little surprised to learn you're Libertarian. They oppose any gun control. I was tremendously influenced by my Liberal father and firmly ensconced that camp my whole life...and I recognize the power of our early indoctrination. However, my younger brother, 8 years difference, is a devout Libertarian. We couldn't be more different politically. My brother seriously disappointed my father in the end; his cruel judgment and dismissive attitudes towards Liberalism wounded my father in his late 80s. I feel it's the coldness of many Libertarians of "survial of the fittest'... "You made your bed; lie in it." "You're disadvantaged; get over it." Sweden is more complicated than I imagined.

see the tax doesn't quite work like that it begins om a threshhold of 18 000 SKR either per year or per month, probably per year, but it's only the mony above the threshhold that gets 30-ish% of itself, or so I've heard

Informative

Great video as always 👍 but one thing I would like to add is that the word "communism" isn't really as acceptable as you portray it and the people who use it the most are from the youth parties especially "ung vänster". Many of the older generations are still very anti-communist and still dislike Vänsterpartiet due to their history as Communists.

No. You are keeping about 70% of everything you make. The hidden tax you talk about does not come out of your pay. It is wrong to add them together. However, the "hidden" tax pays for sick leave, pensions, and alot of other stuff. If that tax rate is lowered you would NOT get more in payment for your work.

Intressant video :)

A thing about sweden being more relaxed during the pandemic (which to be honest, there's been a bit of scrutiny around internally) stems a lot I think from the fact that here a lot of people have been better at taking precautions and following recommendations on their own volition. Wearing masks, keeping distance etc, so that stricter restrictions were not as necessary. In the US there's been quite a few people who insisted on not taking any precautions, so the government had to step in to force these precautions harder.

We don't really "support the monarchy financially". Yes, sure, there are tax money paying for it but we need to have a head-of-state function and the monarchy gives us that for a bargain, really with a profit if you count goodwill. We can compare to Finland, whose head-of-state function is a LOT more expensive, I think it was something like double the cost last time I checked the Finnish state budget.

Maybe you culd make a video about religion in Sweden vs USA. 😉

According to what i know of history the colours of the US partys were the same as the the rest of the world(in the view of goverment vs self control) but something happend and the partys switche roles. Btw if red is a weird colour for more left toughts: was not Sovijet called big red or someting similar?

I thought your home state was Oregon? I remember hearing that you were from Portland. Maybe I was mistaken.

I fail to comprehend how one can live in Sweden, see all the benefits of social democracy (everyone being able to afford healthcare, nobody starving to death, efficient public transportation, free and excellent education...), and yet support the American Libertarian Party? Families are in constant debt simply because they want their children to have a decent education, or because they get hurt, or are born with crippling conditions. But yeah, complete privatisation of all sectors seems like a great idea. Maybe let's charge people to breathe too.

Visst är skatten högre, men då är det mesta redan betald om du blir sjuk eller vill studera på universitet eller liknande. I USA får du lägga undan pengarna till detta istället, lite generellt....

One thing to note which I believe ties in with the colors is that sweden is way further left politically than america. This means that the typical conservative parties like Moderaterna actually are liberal parties. You referred to the swedish left as the more liberal side of the spectrum which I at least would consider incorrect as they are more socialist (social democratic). I do understand where you come from though as the american left is the more liberal side. I would actually say that parties like Moderaterna (swedish right wing) are still further left than the american left wing (Democratic party). Of course, the parties in the two countries talk about and focus on different things as different things are relevant in the two countries. This makes it a little harder to make a good comparison. Anyways, about the colors, I think blue is kind of associated with liberalism. I also believe that red can be associated either with quite far left wing OR quite far right wing. That’s why we find both the swedish left and the american right wing using red.

Around 120 million goes to the royal family but according to lots of news papers they actually generate around 140

The reason for the somewhat strange policies with regard to alcohol and drugs etc is the simple fact that health care is tax funded. This means that there is a strong desire to restrict anything that will cost the government money (except for a few things that are done for entirely political reasons).

The monarchy actually makes money it's profitable and out of the five most democratic countries in the world 4 are monarchies it goes hand in hand with swedish values

What states in USA have legalized casual use of marujana? I thought it was only allowed for medical use...?

I wanna hear your opinion on Sverigedemokraterna (The Sweden Democrats) as they are kinda taboo to talk about in general here in Sweden.

I’m the same. As a born and raised Swede I’m def more conservative (blue) but if I was American I would without a doubt be a Democrat. It’s because even our most Conservative party is still so much more liberal and socialistic than the American Democratic Party is...

I think most Swedes don’t know how much they actually pay in taxes

Btw, you used the old logo for Moderaterna. They have went back to just moderaterna and a style more common with their old design. This is a nod to that they are going back to being a conservative party rather than their experimentation with liberalism under the Borg-Reinfeldt administration.

Well done

Comparing the two societies you need to consider what meaning you put into the labels "liberal", "socialist" and "conservative". There are both a financial dimension and a social dimension - that won't necessarily follow each other - to every one of those labels. Swedish liberals, for instance, tend to be more on the liberal side both in the financial dimension and the social whereas the US Democrats are only liberal on social issues - not financial ones. US Conservatives tend to be very liberal on financial issues but not on social. Swedish Socialists are more liberal on social issues but very much not on financial ones.

Jag tror inte att vi är så ideologiska. Vi gillar det som fungerar.

It used to be the same way in the US but around 100 years ago it switched and the parties abopted eachothers previous stances but kept their colors.

Pretty sure it would be illegal for the Swedish government to remove the king,I know it would without changing one of the four swedish grundlagar which would require for a vote to start the process and before it can be changed there must be an election in order give the Swedish people a chance to elect new representatives if the want to.I do not know but I believe he technically still owns a lot of swedish land and taking it away from him would set a precedent that the government are allowed to take your land and properly.

Gällande monarkin, vill minnas att kungahuset går plus (i vanliga fall) pga turism vilket innebär att staten tjänar pengar på att ha kvar monarkin

Rural areas are more on the left because the median income is lower there. Follow the money ;)

Preserving a constitutional monarchy where the head of state and head of government are different people, unlike in republics like the US where it is one and the same in the President, is one of the reasons I think Sweden has a relatively successfull and stable democracy. Consider that the monarch, as head of state in Sweden, have to be apolitical and as such is easier for the whole population of a country to gather behind, rather than an extremely poltical person such as a President is. At the same time the monarch is a symbol of national tradition, culture and history and can be a tourist attraction as well as a high-profile figure to highlight subjects in where they choose to attend without it having to do with politics at all. If anything a monarch makes the job easier for the head of government, a prime minister in Sweden's case, to concentrate on the ruling and politics of it all, rather than most ceremonial duties, even though there still are some of those.

I'm in Denmark and I would argue that all our parties are "socialist" at a base level, and where they tend to differ are within immigration and taxes/legislation in the private sector. I don't think you could compare the Danish conservatives to the US Republicans on a one-to-one-ratio, because on some issues they'd be considered socialist/liberal by American standards. I'd argue that there are more nuances in Nordic/European politics than there is in the US, where it's more "either/or". My point is just that being Nordic/European conservative is not the same as US Republican and should not be compared on a one-to-one-ratio.

Look forward to when we will crown Princess Victoria as the Queen of Sweden

well... they may have given recommendations but my Swedish musician and artist friends are having a BRUTAL time with the restrictions even in Sweden... support aritsts🥺🙏🏻

I read that the colors for US parties wasn't Red and Blue like this in the past. the incumbents had one color and the opposing had one in the maps earlier, but for like 20-30 years ago, some news agency kept the last election colors for the new election and it got the new standard. Don't know if it's true, someone else might enlighten us.

I think the reason for the loose Corona restricitons has something to do with the Swedish constitution, it says somethng like the government cannot force it's citizen's to stay inside.