The Swedish dream was always too good to be true. And now the far right is back | Elisabeth Åsbrink

The Swedish dream was always too good to be true. And now the far right is back | Elisabeth Åsbrink:

My country failed to deal with its wartime past – and the idea of the ‘good Swedes’ has enabled the rise of extreme rightwingers

Trying to define a nation’s self-image is always an interesting exercise, especially if one tries to boil it down to a single word. What would that be for Britain? Independence, perhaps. For Sweden, there can only be one word: goodness. We aren’t looking quite as good as we would like to right now, though. Neo-Nazis march through the streets, not many but highly visible, trying to influence the political scene through threats and violence.

We Swedes like to believe that our politics are good for the rest of the world

Continue reading…

from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2JzJ3el
from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2WBJUyJ