Block Differences?

Culture of Sweden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Swedes have an egalitarian outlook. The concept of Jante Law is, in many areas and fields, still strong today in Sweden, and any form of elitism is likely to meet strong criticism. This attitude goes in hand with the Swedish lagomhet, the appraisal of modesty and humbleness."

I don't know who wrote this but it is interesting if it is a foreign observer. Reinfeldt made an exception the other day when he talked about Sweden as a "föregångsland". Since his approval rating seems to have gone up the last year, this might not have been something the Swedes disagreed about? Or is it only an expression of the increase in nationalism that is currently seen in EU?

I have been trying to understand what the difference, if any, there is between the two blocks in Swedish politics. It seems like the key difference is what the Red-Greens call "klyftorna", i.e., the differences in wealth seen among Swedes. "Klyftorna" can of course be derived from equality and the Law of Jante. Thus it seems that what makes about half of Swedes sympathize with the Red-Greens is some kind of comfort stemming from your neighbor not having a fancier car, and God forbid, a better job.

The problem with elitism, on the other hand, results in problem with the enthusiasm for the EU. Another reason is that Sweden after World War II have been affiliated with the English-speaking countries and the United Kingdom is rather EU sceptic. A person like Annie Johansson (C) have said that Centerpartiet does not subscribe to the Law of Jante but at the same time she is very careful not discussing elitism. Perhaps still a dirty word in politics. I have argued for EU elitism because it represents a bulwark against the elites of major systems like China, Russia and the US for a small nation of 2% of the EU population and 4% of its GDP.

What also plays in the hands of the Red-Greens is, I believe, the love for nature of Swedes and the so called "Allemansrätt", i.e., where people can move relatively freely on other peoples land to enjoy the outdoors. It is all a part of the egalitarian outlook, the so called "jämlikhet". "Jämlikhet" will be a difficult word to beat now when the unemployment figures will be double digit at the time for the election.

Wikipedia also informs that there has been large attempts to liberalize Sweden which has been Anglo-American in nature. However, I expect Germany's influence to grow again now after this cataclysmic financial meltdown. The bonus bashing is a sign of this. Both SPD and Labour are placed more to the right than the Swedish Socialdemokrater and this is probably due to their recognition of the failure of socialism to a larger extent. On top of this the Swedish Socialdemokrater are now in a coalition with the Greens and worse with the Left Party. This opens for moral support from the German CDU/CSU for the Swedish Alliansen. Don't expect Reinfeldt to turn Merkel down on the North Stream pipeline.