Thursday, September 4, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

“Respect for your own culture is a basis for progress”

Published 16 May 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Faroese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Høgni Hoydal at the press briefing at International Press Center in Copenhagen.
4 minute read

Developing a small nation like the Faroe Islands is challenging, especially culturally in the digital age, according to Faroese Minister Høgni Hoydal. He also believes that the Faroese government’s extensive efforts to develop the Faroese language and the small island nation’s culture have paid off.

I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, he emphasized during a visit to Copenhagen.

Høgni Hoydal has been the leader of the Faroese independence party Tjóðveldi, also known as the Republican Party, which is part of the governing coalition in the Faroe Islands, since 1998. Last week he visited the International Press Center in Copenhagen to report on the general situation in the Faroe Islands and the politics of the small autonomous island nation.

Among other things, Hoydal pointed out that over the past 5-15 years, the Faroe Islands have seen a population growth, which is a reversal of the previous trend. In 2023, the Faroese population is expected to reach 54,000 people. In addition to concrete investments in good conditions for family formation such as health care, schools and education and a generally functioning infrastructure to connect the 18 main Faroese islands, Hoydal placed special emphasis on investments in Faroese culture. A significant part of the public budget is being actively invested in the development of the Faroese language, partly because it is a major challenge to establish a small language like Faroese as a natural part of the global digital environment. He points out that the investments have yielded the desired results and are also reflected in a rich cultural life through music, literature and cultural festivals.

We have to use a large part of our budget to invest in textbooks and books and literature and art, so that we can have a modern society on our own basis, with our own language, and we are quite proud that we have managed to do so, says Hoydal.

I fully believe that the basis for all progress is human progress and that you have respect for your own culture, that you have a diversified world with as many diverse cultures and languages as possible. That is a huge challenge for us – as it is for so many.

The politician emphasizes that the Faroese approach is to simultaneously place great emphasis on encouraging learning about other cultures in order to interact effectively with the world.

“Everything is about self-reliance”

The Faroese minister also mentions that the definitive overall goal for the small island nation is to further increase its self-reliance.

For us, everything is about self-reliance and self-determination, he says, adding that the Faroe Islands also have a moral responsibility to stand on their own two feet in relation to Denmark, which has long supported the Faroese economy.

It is not only a question of self-reliance, it’s also a question of moral in my opinion. Today, the Faroese economy is stronger than the Danish economy, so why should we get money from Denmark when we are one of the richest nations in the world?

View over the Faroese capital Tórshavn. Photo: Arne List/CC BY-SA 2.0

The specific goal is to reduce the Danish support by 100 million Danish kroner over the next 4 years and to take over some new responsibilities. If the goal is achieved, it means that approximately 2.4 percent of the Faroese budget is financed by Denmark – something he points out was as much as 30 percent some 30 years ago.

Another part of the stated self-sufficiency goal is to become self-sufficient in electricity, something that has been achieved on land – but including the large fishing fleet, a complete solution has yet to be found despite the development of hydro and wave power.

13 tons of fish per Faroese – every year

The Faroese economy is very much based on the fishing industry, which accounts for 90 percent of the country’s exports, and Hoydal emphasizes that a very large part of the public debate naturally revolves around it. The Faroe Islands are only 1,299 square kilometers in land area, but the sea area is 274,000 square kilometers with a well-preserved marine ecosystem that allows for annual fish catches of as much as 700,000 tons, equivalent to 13 tons per Faroese per year or 40 kilos per day. 100,000 tons of these are salmon farms.

Everything in the Faroe Islands is about fish and sea, in a modern sense, and you can meet the Faroe Islands on every ocean of the world. Not only are we operating on our own waters but we are operating all around the world as seafarers and all modern industries that are related to the sea and to shipping and so on, says Hoydal, who adds that they are also investing in diversifying the area – including the cultivation of seaweed, which is in demand in pharmaceuticals and textiles.

One criticism directed at the Faroe Islands during the year is that they have exempted fishing exports from their sanctions against Russia, which is currently the only economic link that exists in practice between the countries. Increased pressure has been put on the Faroe Islands to end this, but Hoydal says that they are currently not worried that sanctions could potentially be imposed on the Faroe Islands by the EU. He adds that the Faroe Islands have previously experienced exceptional sanctions in connection with an EU boycott in 2013 that wiped out 50 percent of Faroese fish exports in one fell swoop.

If the EU had managed to put these sanctions on Russia, perhaps the war would stop, he says.

Hoydal concludes that Arctic cooperation in particular is very difficult to navigate and unpredictable even in the near future due to the tragic situation in Ukraine.

This terrible new geopolitical situation has also put pressure on what we have tried for many years, to have international and regional bodies to govern everything that happens in our vast area of the North Atlantic and the Arctic, he notes.

 

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Stubb’s warning: “We will lose to the global South”

Published yesterday 13:34
– By Editorial Staff
Finnish President Alexander Stubb warns that the Western world is losing influence to Asia.
3 minute read

As the SCO alliance brings together major powers like India, China and Russia, Finnish President Alexander Stubb sees how a new world order is taking shape. Finland’s president warns that the West’s response – punitive tariffs and confrontation – only accelerates the historic shift in power.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb is calling for a more “dignified” and cooperative foreign policy toward the global South. His message is particularly directed at the US and comes at a sensitive time – amid the harshest trade tensions in years between Washington and New Delhi.

— My message, not only to my European colleagues, but especially to the United States, is that if we don’t derive a more cooperative and dignified foreign policy towards Global South, the likes of India, we are going to lose this game, Stubb said.

The president pointed to the recently held summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated alongside leaders from China and Russia.

— The meeting is a good reminder to all of us in the global west of what is at stake. We’re trying to preserve the remnants of the old order, he stated.

Close ties with Trump

Stubb’s statement carries extra weight because he is considered to have unusually good relations with President Trump, and the two bonded during a seven-hour golf round at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in March.

Trump has called Stubb a “young, powerful man” and said that: “we wanted to have you here because you are somebody that we all respect”.

Jan Hallenberg from the Swedish Institute of International Affairs tells news agency AFP that Stubb’s position is unique:

— Among small countries, there is no equivalent whatsoever. Stubb has gained unique access to Trump that no one else from a smaller European country has ever had.

In August, Stubb accompanied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House for talks about the war with Russia.

Trump defends the tariffs

The warning from Finland’s president comes as the US has just imposed 50 percent punitive tariffs on Indian imports – half motivated by India’s oil purchases from Russia. The tariffs, which took effect on August 27, particularly impact India’s textile and diamond industries and are defended by Trump himself.

— We get along with India very well, but for many years it was a one-sided relationship… India was charging us tremendous tariffs, the highest in the world, the president said, highlighting how American motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson could no longer sell its products in India due to a 200 percent tariff on motorcycles.

— So what happens? Harley Davidson went to India and built a motorcycle plant. Now they don’t have to pay tariffs.

With India increasingly turning eastward and strengthening ties with China and Russia, Stubb’s warning seems to be about more than just trade volumes but about the West’s future political influence in a world where the balance of power is rapidly shifting.

Malmö schools to block social media

Published yesterday 11:55
– By Editorial Staff
As mobile restrictions have been implemented, students have started browsing social media using school computers instead.
1 minute read

Social media will be blocked on all school computers in elementary schools in Malmö, Sweden. The implementation is a pilot project to see if it counteracts harassment in schools and provides increased study peace.

It began when a special education teacher raised alarm about students’ use of social media during class time, where she emailed some concrete suggestions to the city of Malmö. This then led to an investigation into students’ digital work environment with a focus on social media.

Now the city of Malmö has decided to block social media on students’ school computers. The platforms being blocked are Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Google Chat, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Roblox, Discord and Threads. The blocking applies both during and after school hours.

Most schools today have introduced some form of mobile phone restrictions. But young people are very resourceful and find new ways, so they have replaced phones with computer, says Malmö’s education commissioner Sara Wettergren from the Liberal Party to the Bonnier publication DN.

During the investigation, teachers were positive about the blocking, but not all students were completely satisfied. However, they now hope for more study peace in schools and also that it could lead to fewer instances of harassment.

The pilot project will run throughout the 2025/2026 school year and will then be evaluated.

Swedish preschool chain extracts millions – children get less butter

Welfare collapse

Published 2 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Tax funds finance preschool – butter is portioned out in the smallest possible amounts.
2 minute read

The Swedish preschool company Hagvidson has extracted millions in profits in recent years. Meanwhile, the company is rationing butter and sandwich toppings for preschool children.

Hagvidson currently owns over 21 preschools across Sweden, including facilities in Falun, Stockholm, and Uppsala. The preschool company has grown significantly in recent years and has purchased ten new preschools during this period. During the same timeframe, the owners – three men from the Örebro region in central Sweden – have extracted €6 million in dividend payments.

The men have taken director fees and salaries totaling around €900,000, which is primarily based on tax funds and municipal preschool funding.

Despite the million-euro profits, the company is strict about imposing restrictions on the children, according to an investigation by the Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet. The restrictions primarily concern children eating too much sandwich toppings, but also include limits on paper towel usage for both staff and children.

We need to think about how much butter we put on the sandwiches and the amount of toppings – more is being used than usual right now. If we want to keep using Bregott (a popular Swedish butter-margarine blend), we need to be mindful of this”, states a protocol sent to employees, which the newspaper obtained.

Half a cheese slice

One solution from the preschool company is for adults at the table to portion out the butter to ensure children don’t take too much from the package themselves. Furthermore, only one topping per sandwich is allowed, something that employees at one of the preschools also confirm.

The children get half a cheese slice or half a thin slice of turkey on their sandwich and eat a maximum of two slices of bread – one soft and one hard per day – yet this still seems to be too much, the educator tells Aftonbladet.

Hagvidson’s CEO Michael Enghag declined an interview regarding the children’s restrictions on sandwich toppings, citing the company’s “communication policy”.

Number of prisoners in Sweden has doubled in ten years

Published 29 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read

The number of inmates in Swedish correctional facilities has nearly doubled in the past ten years, according to statistics from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). The number of new admissions has also been the highest in almost 30 years.

At the end of 2024, the total number of people in correctional facilities was 8,206 people, 593 women and 7,613 men. This is referred to as having an ongoing prison sentence execution. This represents an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year. Compared to 2015, the figure has increased by 91 percent.

The number of new admissions, that is, those who have begun serving a prison sentence, has reached a record high of 11,812 people, which is the highest figure in 28 years.

The increase in the number of inmates in correctional facilities since 2017 is primarily explained by the harsher penalties for serious crimes that have been implemented in recent years, says Charlotta Lindström, statistician at the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, in a press release.

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