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The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

The Nordic Times

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/alingsas-municipality-introduces-language-requirements-for-employees/

Sweden

Alingsås municipality introduces language requirements for employees

Updated December 17, 2023, Published June 27, 2023 – By Editorial staff
The main square in Alingsås.
1 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Alingsås municipality is introducing basic Swedish language requirements for staff working with users or children and pupils in municipal care.

In practice, the new language requirement means that new hires will be required to achieve language level "B1", which denotes an "intermediate level of language proficiency where you can understand and express yourself in an understandable way in everyday subjects". The decision comes after a study showed the benefits of introducing language requirements, according to the municipality.

– It is important that our welfare staff can both make themselves understood and understand the people they care for, says Daniel Filipsson (M), chairman of the municipal board.

Furthermore, it is believed that it can also help to reduce the risk of misunderstandings and incorrect handling, which in itself can increase user satisfaction. At the same time, it facilitates communication between workers.

Staff who currently do not meet the language requirement will be offered different types of training on paid working hours. The staff concerned work in health and welfare, children and youth care, and social welfare administration.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/stegra-granted-more-swedish-state-funds-despite-debts-and-unpaid-wages/

Sweden

Stegra granted more Swedish state funds despite debts and unpaid wages

Published today 11:25 am – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Swedish steel company Stegra has been granted an additional €35 million in state funding from the Swedish Energy Agency. This despite Turkish workers raising alarms about unpaid wages for nine months.

Stegra was founded in 2020 by billionaire Harald Mix through investment company Vargas and was originally called H2 Green Steel. Mix was also involved in starting the battery factory Northvolt, which has now collapsed.

However, the billionaire left the steel company in October, along with his investment company, which was replaced by Just Climate, a subsidiary of notorious climate activist Al Gore's environmental investment firm.

The goal of the new steel plant in Boden, northern Sweden, is to produce steel using hydrogen gas. This is claimed to be "climate-friendly" by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 95 percent.

But the "climate-smart steel" project has not been particularly successful – the plan was for steel production to start in 2024 and also create significant job opportunities for residents in the region.

Instead, the production start has been postponed to the turn of 2026/2027, while both costs and debts have skyrocketed.

No wages for nine months

In November this year, Turkish workers raised alarms that they had not received wages for nine months, and that they were planning to go on hunger strike until the wages were paid into their accounts.

Before this, the guest workers had been promised $13 per hour, which was then reduced to $9 before wages stopped completely.

At the same time, Stegra complained that the money had run out and that they needed an additional €900 million to complete the project, something that tax-funded Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported on.

Green light for additional taxpayer money

Despite the problems with employee wage payments, the Swedish Energy Agency has now decided to grant Stegra €35 million in state funding.

The justification is that the project has "good opportunities to accelerate the transition within the iron and steel industry".

— Swedish industry is on its journey toward fossil freedom. That journey will give Sweden major advantages in the form of increased competitiveness and reduced emissions. Companies are paving the way forward through innovation, new solutions and products. But state support is necessary for industry to be able to make the technological leaps required to succeed with the transition, says Caroline Asserup, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency, in a press release.

Stegra has already received a significant amount in state funding, with the Swedish Energy Agency previously granting a total of €108 million, of which €76 million has already been paid out. €23 million is planned to be paid out in November.

Furthermore, the company has also received €250 million from the EU's Innovation Fund.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/elon-musk-olof-palme-destroyed-sweden/

Sweden

Elon Musk: “Olof Palme destroyed Sweden”

Population replacement in the West

Updated November 25, 2025, Published November 25, 2025 – By Editorial staff
The idea of a multicultural Sweden was introduced partly through initiatives and debate articles by David Schwarz (far right in the image) and with support from the Bonnier family.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Elon Musk has once again entered the Swedish immigration debate. On X, he accuses former Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme of having "destroyed Sweden" by introducing multiculturalism in 1975.

The tech billionaire is responding to an X post by journalist Christian Peterson, who claims that Palme, through a 1975 legislative change (Proposition 1975:26), laid the foundation for today's multicultural society, reports Fria Tider.

Peterson argues that the decision was made without a referendum or extensive investigation and links it to current problems such as mass immigration, gun violence, parallel societies, and demographic changes.

"Multiculturalism was added to the Swedish constitution in 1975 (Prop. 1975:26) under Olof Palme — no referendum, no long-term review. 50 years later: mass migration, record gun violence, parallel societies, major demographic shifts. A turning point that no one voted for".

In response, Elon Musk writes briefly and concisely: "He destroyed Sweden" and also attaches an AI-generated summary of the 1975 parliamentary decision.

1975 – a political crossroads

The controversial 1975 proposition established that immigrants and minorities should be able to choose whether to adapt to a Swedish cultural identity or maintain their original cultural heritage.

The new policy also meant that the state would provide financial support to immigrant organizations and cultural projects. Critics argue that this became a political choice with long-term effects.

Musk and Peterson today link the decision to current concerns about integration, social division, and crime.

Elon Musk has previously engaged in Swedish legal matters. During the fall, he criticized an appeals court ruling where a man was acquitted of deportation after a rape conviction, calling the decision "insane".

His latest statement has once again touched on a deep ideological conflict within Swedish politics – a societal issue that remains a hot political topic in Sweden.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/sweden-democrats-voted-against-abolishing-controversial-hate-speech-law/

Sweden

Sweden Democrats voted against abolishing controversial hate speech law

Published November 25, 2025 – By Editorial staff
One of the Sweden Democrats' primary reasons for not pushing for a complete abolition of the heavily criticized law on incitement against ethnic groups (HMF), is the "increasing antisemitism" in Sweden (archive image).
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The Sweden Democrats (SD) now wants to reform the country's hate speech law (hets mot folkgrupp). At the party congress in Örebro this past weekend, the party voted by a narrow margin for comprehensive reform – while proposals to completely abolish the law failed by the smallest possible difference.

The Sweden Democrats' party congress in Örebro, a city in central Sweden, resulted in a decision that the party should work toward a fundamental change to the hate speech law.

The vote was very close: 79 delegates supported the party leadership's position, while 78 voted to completely remove the law.

Prior to the decision, several motions had demanded that the law be abolished entirely. These motions received support from many delegates from the floor.

Julia Fält, a delegate from Fyrbodal in western Sweden, criticized the law's current application: — The law doesn't work as intended. It creates arbitrariness, silences debate and punishes statements that don't constitute any real threat.

Petter Nilsson, a delegate from Västerbotten in northern Sweden, joined the criticism: — Through legal precedent, it has more or less been established that Swedes cannot be subjected to hate speech. However, a large number of court cases have come to involve the 'group' of drag queens, which is quite telling.

Several speakers repeated the argument that the law doesn't protect the Swedish majority population and that it is currently applied arbitrarily in ways that limit freedom of speech.

Party leadership wants reform

Despite the criticism, the party leadership maintained that the hate speech law should not be abolished. Instead, they want to reform it so that it returns to dealing with ethnic groups in the proper sense.

Party Secretary Mattias Bäckström Johansson emphasized before the congress that the law should be streamlined and not linked to, for example, sexual orientation or religious affiliation.

Julia Kronlid, a member of the Swedish Parliament Riksdag and member of the party leadership, argued for the leadership's position and emphasized historical reasons for keeping the law.

— I really understand the frustration that may exist. But we must not forget the background to the law, with the persecution of Jews and the Holocaust.

Kronlid also highlighted current societal developments as a reason for the party leadership's position.

— Given the increasing antisemitism, I think it would be a major mistake to remove the law. It will be portrayed completely incorrectly. Our party leader Jimmie Åkesson will have to stand in interview after interview and answer the question 'why campaign on allowing hate speech'.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-public-broadcaster-aired-ai-generated-clip/

Sweden

Swedish public broadcaster aired AI-generated clip

Published November 24, 2025 – By Editorial staff
1 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

During Sunday evening's SVT Agenda, an AI-generated video was broadcast without the editorial team being aware of it. The clip appeared to show a confrontation between a New York police officer and an agent from the federal immigration agency ICE.

The video was part of a longer report about tensions in the United States surrounding deportations of undocumented migrants, where ICE operations have led to conflicts with local police in several Democrat-controlled cities.

The AI-generated material was shown on two occasions: first in the program's intro and then as part of the longer US report.

— It is unfortunate that we mistakenly published an AI-generated clip. The audience should always be able to trust that images in Agenda are authentic, says Agenda's editor-in-chief Michael Kucera.

The broadcast has been temporarily removed from SVT Play (the broadcaster's streaming service). A corrected version will be published as soon as possible, along with a correction notice. The editorial team states that they are now reviewing their procedures to avoid similar errors in the future.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com