(Without referring to google translate, I do hope my globally astute readers are aware that Sverige refers to the Kingdom of Sweden).
Why should you care, you ask? Well, here is a little test to find out if you have made a monetary contribution to the Kingdom of Sweden. Do you own a Volvo vehicle? Do you use Electrolux appliances? Do you stream music on Spotify? Have you consumed medication owned by AstraZeneca? Have you made purchases at H & M or IKEA? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then congrats, you have increased Sweden's GDP. I could go on and mention ABBA but that would be cruel. (Interesting tidbit, Skype was a Swedish company until Microsoft gobbled it up) Can we all just take a second to give this great nation of 9.9 million a standing ovation for punching above its weight, it leaves larger nations in its dust. Also, shame on you that you couldn't find any local companies to help financially, instead sending your hard earned to those Vikings.
If you're unable to gain Swedish residency by September 9 to participate, then I suggest you locate a Swedish Consulate. (There's one located in prestigious Highland Park, Dallas. One mile from my residence - small world). Once you find it, I implore you to start picketing if by any chance the Sweden Democrats (SD) surpass their 2014 result. Four years ago, this far-right racist party shocked the foundations of democracy by gaining 12.9% of the popular vote, in turn securing 49 seats (out of 349) in the Riksdag. Thankfully, since 2014 they are the only major party to have lost seats, currently left with 42 (independents now represent those seats). Okay, some will say that they have candidates running for them like Karl Robbjens of mixed Libyan and Swedish heritage, so they can't be racist. Well, many racist people happen to be those who have forgotten where their ancestors came from. It's like an American descendant of Italians who now hates on Muslims, forgetting that Italians were cruelly discriminated against when they first arrived on U.S. soil.
All Americans should thank Sweden on a daily basis, George W. Bush's inane slaughtering of Iraqi's led the ones left behind without homes, and in came Sweden providing residency and generous social welfare for hundreds of thousands (opened their doors to more per head of population than any other country) and they didn't even send troops to kill innocent woman and children in that fake war. Now many Swedes are blaming immigrants for all their problems, in the firing line happen to be these same refugees, among many other groups from other war-ravaged nations. But here's the thing, in most western nations the statistics don't lie. On average, the so-called pure breed in wealthy nations commit more crimes than those 'brown' people that racists like to blame. I should know, here in the U.S. the scariest people are often Caucasians with a terror lust, one simple background check of all the heinous crimes and you'll see that a white man (often Christian) is the perpetrator.
Whether it's in Sweden or any other advanced nation, this trend of blaming minorities for society's ills is insecure rhetoric. Even if you take away major crimes, you'll see that the pure citizens themselves aren't angels, domestic violence, child abuse, burglary, sexual assault belongs to no specific nationality. Sweden had a problem with rape and alcohol abuse long before the arrival of foreigners. The politics of scapegoating needs to end, and I trust the Swedish electorate will adhere to what makes them great: a pragmatic welcoming people that believe in a safety net for all, whilst still maintaining their strong business ethics. Sweden is admired for its social welfare policies yet still is a haven for capitalism - don't ever lose that Sweden.
Besides SD (led by a 39-year-old Klan member), seven other larger parties (2014 results below) and countless smaller ones will contest the 2018 general election, and a vote for anything but the SD is my recommendation. Recent polls have them taking some 20% of the vote, which is horrifying, but as we've seen recently polls can be way-off. Swedes obsess over America and fantasize about voting in our elections, so I'm returning the favor, time for we Americans to dream about being a Swede for a day and showing that geopolitics is something to take seriously, more so than Sunday night football. If the SD end up with less than 42 seats on 9/9/18 then I will walk into the nearest H & M and pick myself up a 'I heart Sverige' t-shirt.
Social Democratic Party (31%, 113 seats)
Moderate Party (23.3%, 83)
Green Party (6.9%, 25)
Center Party (6.1%, 22)
Left Party (5.7%, 21)
Liberals (5.4%, 19)
Christian Democrats (4.6%, 16)
Note: Current Government is a formal Coalition between Social Democrats and Greens, other parties such as the Left provide support to pass bills. 175 is the magic number for a majority in the 349-seat Riksdag, but as often is the case, Swedes are all about compromise.
Why should you care, you ask? Well, here is a little test to find out if you have made a monetary contribution to the Kingdom of Sweden. Do you own a Volvo vehicle? Do you use Electrolux appliances? Do you stream music on Spotify? Have you consumed medication owned by AstraZeneca? Have you made purchases at H & M or IKEA? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then congrats, you have increased Sweden's GDP. I could go on and mention ABBA but that would be cruel. (Interesting tidbit, Skype was a Swedish company until Microsoft gobbled it up) Can we all just take a second to give this great nation of 9.9 million a standing ovation for punching above its weight, it leaves larger nations in its dust. Also, shame on you that you couldn't find any local companies to help financially, instead sending your hard earned to those Vikings.
If you're unable to gain Swedish residency by September 9 to participate, then I suggest you locate a Swedish Consulate. (There's one located in prestigious Highland Park, Dallas. One mile from my residence - small world). Once you find it, I implore you to start picketing if by any chance the Sweden Democrats (SD) surpass their 2014 result. Four years ago, this far-right racist party shocked the foundations of democracy by gaining 12.9% of the popular vote, in turn securing 49 seats (out of 349) in the Riksdag. Thankfully, since 2014 they are the only major party to have lost seats, currently left with 42 (independents now represent those seats). Okay, some will say that they have candidates running for them like Karl Robbjens of mixed Libyan and Swedish heritage, so they can't be racist. Well, many racist people happen to be those who have forgotten where their ancestors came from. It's like an American descendant of Italians who now hates on Muslims, forgetting that Italians were cruelly discriminated against when they first arrived on U.S. soil.
All Americans should thank Sweden on a daily basis, George W. Bush's inane slaughtering of Iraqi's led the ones left behind without homes, and in came Sweden providing residency and generous social welfare for hundreds of thousands (opened their doors to more per head of population than any other country) and they didn't even send troops to kill innocent woman and children in that fake war. Now many Swedes are blaming immigrants for all their problems, in the firing line happen to be these same refugees, among many other groups from other war-ravaged nations. But here's the thing, in most western nations the statistics don't lie. On average, the so-called pure breed in wealthy nations commit more crimes than those 'brown' people that racists like to blame. I should know, here in the U.S. the scariest people are often Caucasians with a terror lust, one simple background check of all the heinous crimes and you'll see that a white man (often Christian) is the perpetrator.
Whether it's in Sweden or any other advanced nation, this trend of blaming minorities for society's ills is insecure rhetoric. Even if you take away major crimes, you'll see that the pure citizens themselves aren't angels, domestic violence, child abuse, burglary, sexual assault belongs to no specific nationality. Sweden had a problem with rape and alcohol abuse long before the arrival of foreigners. The politics of scapegoating needs to end, and I trust the Swedish electorate will adhere to what makes them great: a pragmatic welcoming people that believe in a safety net for all, whilst still maintaining their strong business ethics. Sweden is admired for its social welfare policies yet still is a haven for capitalism - don't ever lose that Sweden.
Besides SD (led by a 39-year-old Klan member), seven other larger parties (2014 results below) and countless smaller ones will contest the 2018 general election, and a vote for anything but the SD is my recommendation. Recent polls have them taking some 20% of the vote, which is horrifying, but as we've seen recently polls can be way-off. Swedes obsess over America and fantasize about voting in our elections, so I'm returning the favor, time for we Americans to dream about being a Swede for a day and showing that geopolitics is something to take seriously, more so than Sunday night football. If the SD end up with less than 42 seats on 9/9/18 then I will walk into the nearest H & M and pick myself up a 'I heart Sverige' t-shirt.
Social Democratic Party (31%, 113 seats)
Moderate Party (23.3%, 83)
Green Party (6.9%, 25)
Center Party (6.1%, 22)
Left Party (5.7%, 21)
Liberals (5.4%, 19)
Christian Democrats (4.6%, 16)
Note: Current Government is a formal Coalition between Social Democrats and Greens, other parties such as the Left provide support to pass bills. 175 is the magic number for a majority in the 349-seat Riksdag, but as often is the case, Swedes are all about compromise.
