Thursday
October 8, 2020
Driven by its long and uninterrupted state history and geographical location, Sweden has been unwavering in its goal of maintaining a good dose of its sovereignty and decision-making autonomy from the moment it joined the EU.
In other words, it has sought to maintain its ability to chart its own course and avoid general dependence on a supranational framework by delicately balancing its normal contributions to various EU-led projects with occasional divergences.
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Today, we can see a transparent manifestation of this duality in Stockholm’s reaction to Covid-19; an unorthodox set of policies that has garnered a fair share of research and criticism, but without praise.
Until very recently, the British, French and German media voted to reject Stockholm’s strategy, as did the media and governments of neighbouring Denmark and Norway.
Indeed, the latter states have controlled to surprise outdoor observers and aggravate a smart majority of the Swedish public and officials by imposing a ban on Swedes from entering due to Stockholm’s supposedly misguided containment strategy.
Among the former, one may not help to notice an unusually cynical report about Sweden in the British media. a pessimistic air; that things were going to get worse and that the Swedish government would go its own way.
However, recent occasions and events point in the opposite direction.
Not only do Swedish officials not make their decisions, but they may in fact seek credit for having articulated one of the most effective reaction plans in Europe and beyond.
To this day, neither the Swedish public organises the anti-closing protests, nor the Swede that threaten its population with draconian fines of up to 10,000 euros [10,900 euros].
On the contrary, confidence in the management of the situation by the government, since public spirit and a sense of national pride are envious.
The number of cases shown and patients in resuscitation, as well as mortality rates, are on a well-received downward trajectory, and the government has managed to achieve its priorities: ensuring the mental well-being of the public and preventing the collapse of the public fitness system.
The Swedish economy, for its part, is improving than many European states.
Small and medium-sized businesses have suffered much greater currency shocks than their counterparts in other parts of Europe, while customer confidence and spending are among the highest on the continent.
In view of the above, it is fair to recommend that the Swedish style prevail not only because infection rates are declining, but also because the government has controlled the stage without disrupting the socioeconomic lives of its citizens.
In particular, and as a testament to the country’s complex and resilient virtual infrastructure, the elegant transformation of pictorial physical space into virtual and remote paintings has been, in terms, phenomenal.
Looking ahead, one can bet on the emergence of a renewed and concerted drive towards the commercialization of the Swedish style of cyber resilience and ICT through applicable public bodies such as Business Sweden.
However, the main explanation for Sweden’s obvious good fortune in the fight against the virus is that its strategy has been expertly led and rooted in the country’s express and exclusive circumstances, resources and priorities.
Equally important, it has been with commitment, vigour and patience.
These characteristics constitute the bones of the Swedish style and it is they, not their tactics, that deserve to be emulated by others.
In other words, Sweden’s contribution to managing a long-term crisis will depend less on the decisions it has made and/or the tactics it has taken, than on how it has made its decisions and implemented its tactics.
And therein lies a bitter table of truth that pan-Europeans will have to swallow: any centrally planned crisis control framework, let alone imposed, is doomed to failure and, therefore, the governments of the Member States will have to be able to have a high degree of decision. -autonomy, in the interests of the power and long-term of the EU as a viable political bloc.
Nima Khorrami is a researcher at the Arctic Institute in Stockholm.
The reviews expressed in this opinion article are those of EUobserver and not those of EUobserver.
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