Thursday, August 7, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

New figures: Unemployment hits record levels in Sweden as prices keep rising

Published today 15:24
– By Editorial Staff
Price inflation remains at high levels while food prices and unemployment increase.
2 minute read

Unemployment in Sweden rose during the second quarter of 2025, while inflation continues to remain high. The economic uncertainty is also increasingly affecting households and businesses.

According to the Swedish Public Employment Service’s latest figures, 366,496 people were officially registered as unemployed in June 2025, compared to 347,994 people during the same period the previous year. This corresponds to an unemployment level of 6.9 percent, up from 6.6 percent in 2024.

The increase is visible in 15 of the country’s 21 counties, where Västerbotten in northern Sweden has been particularly hard hit following industrial closures. Västmanland in central Sweden also shows a clear increase, while Dalarna and the island of Gotland note some improvement.

Among young people (18–24 years), the situation is particularly serious. 41,939 were registered as unemployed in June, corresponding to 7.8 percent according to the Swedish Public Employment Service’s measure. This occurs while many are newly registering and competition for jobs is increasing.

Experts also point out that the real unemployment rate may be significantly higher than the official figures. Many unemployed people are not registered with the Swedish Public Employment Service and are therefore not included in the statistics.

According to Statistics Sweden’s (SCB) labor force surveys, there are also approximately 200,000 people who are outside the labor force but still want to work – for example, part-time unemployed, long-term unemployed, or people in education who are actively job searching.

The Swedish people continue to struggle with deteriorating household finances while politicians prioritize billions in support to countries at war as well as larger military expenditures.

Inflation continues at high levels

According to the National Institute of Economic Research, price inflation remains at an elevated level in Sweden. Statistics Sweden (SCB) reports that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.8 percent in July compared to the previous month, corresponding to an annual rate of approximately 4.1 percent.

The high annual rate is described as being driven by continued energy price increases, rising transport costs, and disruptions in global supply chains.

The Swedish central bank’s (Riksbank) preferred inflation measure, CPIF (CPI with fixed interest rate), was preliminarily measured at approximately 3.0 percent on an annual basis in July, compared to 2.9 percent in June. The difference between CPI and CPIF is mainly because CPI includes interest costs that have had a major impact, while CPIF excludes these and therefore provides a clearer picture of underlying price developments.

This means that even though price increases based on monthly data are relatively moderate right now, the more stable CPIF inflation continues to be above the Riksbank’s target of 2 percent. For many households, this means continued increased living costs and reduced purchasing power, especially in combination with rising interest rates and a weakened Swedish krona.

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Mass migration was meant to save Sandviken – now it’s compared to Sweden’s worst suburbs

Population replacement in the West

Published today 12:29
– By Editorial Staff
Areas that were meant to become symbols of integration – now marked by surveillance, anxiety and exodus.
3 minute read

Politicians and media promised that mass immigration would make Sandviken, Sweden into an economic success story. Ten years later, reality is much bleaker: half the city is now classified as an exclusion area and compared to notorious problem suburbs like Rinkeby and Tjärna Ängar.

In 2014, left-liberal media, led by the Bonnier-owned Dagens Nyheter (Sweden’s largest daily newspaper), trumpeted that mass migration to Sandviken was a gigantic profitable venture that would make the entire municipality economically prosperous.

“Earns over half a billion from immigration”, read DN’s headline, claiming that each immigrant resident would generate €13,000 annually in revenue for the municipality.

The claims were based on figures in a report by auditing firm PwC and had been commissioned by the municipality itself.

Mass immigration was supposed to be a success for Sandviken. Photo: facsimile/DN

However, the optimistic calculations were based on fantasies and wishful thinking, and within just a couple of years it became clear that the municipality’s financial situation had instead become severely strained – with a budget deficit of €6 million.

— It was a fantasy scenario that was painted. The report was flawed from the beginning. How could anyone stand behind it? wondered Moderate Party opposition councilor Jonny Bratberg in 2019.

“White flight”

And since then, the situation has hardly improved. No billion-euro profits from mass immigration have materialized. Instead, the Swedish government now classifies half of Sandviken as an “exclusion area” – on the same list as notorious immigrant-dense and crime-ridden suburbs like Rinkeby (in Stockholm), Tjärna Ängar in Borlänge, and Gottsunda in Uppsala.

Surveillance cameras now sit on almost every street corner, and Emma Holmqvist, a segregation researcher at Uppsala University, notes that a large portion of the ethnically Swedish population has fled from immigrant-dense parts of Sandviken – and that other Swedes avoid moving there.

— ‘White flight, white avoidance’ is what we call it, says Emma Holmqvist.

— In long-term studies we can see that those with high incomes are partly driving spirals of segregation. They have housing choices that low-income earners lack. They can move away from an area with rental apartments and negative development, simply by purchasing housing.

Swedes don’t want to live with immigrants

She emphasizes, however, that people – regardless of group affiliation – tend to want to live near people who are like themselves, and that this applies to both families with children and high-income earners.

— But one thing that stands out is that many with immigrant backgrounds tend to want to live with more Swedes – the opposite rarely applies to native-born Swedes, she notes.

That Swedes in Sandviken don’t want to live together with immigrants is pointed out as a major and acute problem that must be solved by politicians – for example, by building more rental apartments in villa neighborhoods.

Children as integration tools

The municipality’s politicians have previously attracted attention in connection with a heavily criticized integration initiative where they made the decision to forcibly relocate mainly Swedish children from villa areas to an immigrant-dense, low-performing school in an exclusion area.

The decision enraged many parents and was described as a kind of “social experiment,” where children were involuntarily made into tools in politicians’ integration policy project.

— This is some form of Social Democratic wet dream, where you mix up the students in yet another integration project. You take an A-school and exchange half the students with a D-school, and then you get two C-schools instead – so everyone becomes satisfied and happy. It’s completely insane, of course, commented Jonny Bratberg on the matter in Tidningen Näringslivet (a Swedish business publication).

Swedish minister praises Israel’s destruction of Gaza: “Doing the whole world a service”

The genocide in Gaza

Published yesterday 10:44
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish politician Ebba Busch and her party's support for Israel continues to be virtually limitless - despite warnings of ethnic cleansing, genocide and war crimes.
3 minute read

While increasing voices condemn the Israeli invasion of Gaza as an ongoing genocide and Prime Minister Netanyahu openly speaks of occupying the entire area, Swedish Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch chooses instead to praise Israel’s war.

— Israel is doing the whole world a service, she declares, pointing to Hamas as solely responsible for the suffering and destruction in the region.

The statement comes after the Swedish government announced it wants to freeze the EU’s trade agreement with Israel, in an attempt to increase pressure to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. But the decision has met with criticism, particularly from the Christian Democrats – a party that has long acted as one of Israel’s most loyal defenders in Swedish politics, support that seems unaffected by whatever war crimes or crimes against humanity Israel has been accused of.

Busch herself expresses some reservation about the government’s line, arguing that the message was presented in an unbalanced way:

— The focus became one-sided, she claims.

In a Facebook post, the Christian Democrat leader writes that the government’s position may be reconsidered:

“If Israel does more or if it turns out that there is no basis for Israel bearing a great responsibility for the emergency aid not getting through, there is no reason to maintain the government’s position”.

She adds that “it is unambiguous that Hamas bears the great responsibility for the war and the human suffering in Gaza”.

“Need to increase pressure on Hamas”

While Israel’s invasion and bombings have led to tens of thousands of killed women and children, extensive civilian devastation and harsh international condemnations, Busch chooses to fully defend the country’s actions.

— The root of the war we see between Israel and Hamas is precisely Hamas. It was Hamas that started this war with the terrible terrorist act almost two years ago. It is Hamas that chooses to continue holding hostages, it is Hamas that chooses not to sign peace agreements. And we need to increase pressure on Hamas to lay down their weapons, she says.

— Israel is doing the whole world a service in trying to neutralize Hamas and trying to dissolve Hamas.

When asked if she stands behind the government’s message about working to freeze the trade agreement, Busch answers:

— We have opened up for the far-reaching measure of putting higher economic pressure on Israel, if it is the case that Israel is not doing everything within reason’s limits to let humanitarian support through.

Won’t comment on occupation plans

Recently, the Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. Busch, however, does not want to reveal whether she supports these plans or not.

— I haven’t seen that and then I don’t want to comment on it.

The government’s message has also stirred emotions domestically. The very pro-Israeli Sweden Democrats’ party leader Jimmie Åkesson called the decision a “disaster” in a post on X. Ebba Busch, however, does not want to answer whether the Sweden Democrats can be given influence over foreign policy going forward:

— Now we have the agreement that we have now, she says.

British nationalist leader stopped at Arlanda – alleged to threaten Swedish values

The threat to freedom of speech

Published 5 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Collett was scheduled to speak at a summer party organized by the nationalist association Det Fria Sverige (Free Sweden) in Töreboda, a town in central Sweden.
2 minute read

British nationalist Mark Collett, leader of the organization Patriotic Alternative, was detained by Swedish border police immediately upon arrival at Arlanda Airport near Stockholm on Friday – and subsequently deported.

He was an invited speaker at a summer festival organized by the nationalist association Det fria Sverige (Free Sweden) in Töreboda, central Sweden, but was stopped with the justification that he “poses a threat to public order, society’s structure and the values on which Sweden and Europe are built”.

According to Collett’s own account, he was held at the airport for over 25 hours, without access to luggage or passport, despite not being suspected of any crime.

“After being stranded for more than 25 hours at the airport, two police officers finally came and said it was time to leave. They escorted me to a gate and made sure I boarded a direct flight home”, he writes on Telegram.

He further notes that no EU country would dream of treating an illegal immigrant the way Swedish border police treated him – despite him entering the country completely legally.

The deportation is based on utlänningslagen (Chapter 8, sections 11-12), which gives authorities the right to deny entry to foreigners deemed to pose “a genuine, actual and sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental societal interest”. What this means in practice is very unclear and leaves extensive and arbitrary room for interpretation. Critics argue that the law is used to prevent regime critics and dissidents from entering the country, based on their opinions rather than actual criminality.

Ideologically driven border control

Collett has been a well-known figure in British nationalism for decades, with a clearly immigration-critical and ethno-nationalist agenda. However, it remains unclear how his views that non-European mass immigration is destructive and negative would constitute a threat to Swedish interests. According to critics, the case rather demonstrates ideologically driven border control, where political positions – not actions – determine who is allowed to enter.

There is no criminal investigation or inquiry against Collett, and no information suggests he was planning anything illegal. Yet his mere presence was deemed incompatible with Swedish values – an assessment that was apparently sufficient to detain him and carry out a deportation.

Instead of scrutinizing the border police’s legally questionable actions against regime critics, several Swedish establishment media outlets have seized the opportunity to attack Collett – who is described as, among other things, a dangerous “Nazi”, “white power leader” and “far-right extremist”.

Swedish home care warns: More elderly drinking excessively

Published 2 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

An increasing number of home care recipients over 65 have alcohol problems, according to a new report from Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). The trend is causing concern among staff who are raising alarms about increased risks and problems linked to substance abuse.

In Sweden, alcohol consumption has decreased over the past 20 years across all age groups, except for people over 65 who are instead drinking more. The problem is particularly evident in home care services, where alcohol abuse among people in this age group has increased by 73 percent over the past ten years.

This only applies to people who have been identified through specialized healthcare, which means it’s likely an underestimate and suggests there could also be a significant number of unreported cases, says Isabella Björling, investigator at the National Board of Health and Welfare, in a press release.

Home care staff are also raising alarms about increased substance abuse and the problems that arise. Among other things, the risk of fall injuries increases while there is generally a greater need for care for a person with substance abuse. It also creates a more unpredictable work situation for staff.

– It’s quite common that we have to come in when the situation has become dire. Many times they have been hospitalized, says nursing assistant and safety representative Sofia Andersson to Sweden’s public radio SR.

Difficult to do anything about

The National Board of Health and Welfare believes that competence development is needed within home care services, but also that new working methods need to be developed to handle the growing group of elderly substance abusers.

There is also a need for increased collaboration between healthcare providers as both care needs and the work environment are affected by substance abuse problems.

Despite home care staff seeing the risks, it’s difficult to do anything about substance abuse, according to Andersson.

– We have to, quite bluntly, order alcohol for them. Of course we go in and try to talk about the situation, but if they want us to shop for them, that’s their right, she says.

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