Sunday, October 19, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Stockholm construction industry infiltrated by criminals

Published 28 March 2024
– By Editorial Staff
The construction workers in the picture have nothing to do with the article.
3 minute read

Stockholm’s construction industry faces an uphill battle against rogue companies and a growing wave of criminal activity. Everything from human exploitation to undeclared work and money laundering plague the industry. The problems are widespread and continue on a large scale despite strict official regulations and monitoring.

Since Sweden joined the EU in the 1990s, and the much-vaunted free movement of people was introduced, the Swedish construction industry has had to wage an increasingly intense battle against rogue and, in many cases, outright criminal actors.

In 2023, nearly 300 cases ranging from low wages to dirty human exploitation were reported to the Fair Play Bygg whistleblower service in the Stockholm area alone. However, the number of unreported cases is estimated to be high and to occur throughout the country.

Scams involving illegal immigrants

Several of the reports have been forwarded to the relevant authorities, such as the police, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority and the Swedish Tax Agency.

One of the cases shows how illegal workers are forced to perform dangerous tasks for a wage of only SEK 45 per hour. In this case, there is an accountant who is not only a partner in the company, but is also linked to several other construction companies with large tax debts.

Another revelation shows fraud with ID06 cards. A reported company has more active ID06 cards than actual employees. According to the report, employees are forced to withdraw their wages in cash and return most of it to the company. The money is then used to pay both undocumented and illegal workers.

A third report describes how workers were evicted from their homes after demanding their wages. These homes are also owned by the company. The company has also avoided paying employer contributions and taxes, which is common among the more rogue players in the sector.

ID06 card fraud is a major problem in the construction industry. Photo: id06.se

People on sick leave are exploited

Several companies have established a practice of exploiting state activity support. A number of companies deliberately break the rules by forcing workers on sick leave to do heavy and stressful work. These jobs are rarely long-term, as workers are often dismissed and quickly replaced by new ones who depend on the subsidy to survive.

Companies exploiting construction workers on sick leave to do heavy work under the guise of activity support are only part of the large-scale criminal activity. Tomas Kullberg, president of workers’ organization Byggnads Stockholm-Gotland and spokesman for Fair Play Bygg, describes the grim situation.

– We have seen the emergence of a shadow society where large amounts of tax money disappear from the public welfare system and where foreign workers are exploited, says Tomas Kullberg.

Millions of dollars recovered

Fair Play Bygg’s work has led to companies being forced to pay millions in unpaid taxes, but the problems continue to grow. While housing construction in Stockholm halved in 2023, crime in the industry also changed.

Defrauding government wage guarantees has also become more common, with rogue actors exploiting the system for their own gain. Kristin Andersson, CEO of the Swedish Construction Association.

– Fair Play Bygg’s work has resulted in tax increases of SEK 124 million, which we are proud of. But now it is time to take swift action against bad actors and promote healthy competition in the construction industry.

Byggnads wants to stop fraud

To combat the epidemic of corruption and crime, Byggnads has launched the Swedish Construction Control project.

The project aims to stop fraud and crime in the workplace by reporting suspicious activities to the authorities and trying to remove rogue companies from the workplace.

– It’s been a hard job of recruitment and it feels really good to have everything in place. The goal is simple: criminal companies should not bother to enter our industry. The serious companies will survive and grow, says Johan Lindholm, chairman of Byggnads.

The head of Svensk Byggkontroll will be Peter Sjöstrand, the former secretary of the agreement and deputy chairman of Målarna.

– This has all the potential to be a real game changer in the industry. I am very much looking forward to leading the work for a healthier construction industry.

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Youth unemployment edges down in Sweden

Published 15 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
At the end of September, 363,000 people were registered as unemployed in Sweden.
1 minute read

Unemployment continues to decline and stood at 6.9 percent at the end of September, according to new figures from Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish Public Employment Service). Despite the positive trend, the unemployment level remains high compared to the previous year.

At the end of September, just over 363,000 people were registered as unemployed in Sweden. This marks the second consecutive month of declining unemployment figures. However, compared to the same period last year, unemployment has increased, the statistics show.

It is obviously gratifying that unemployment has decreased for two months in a row, but compared to a year ago, approximately 4,000 more people are registered as unemployed. The unemployment level is therefore still high, says Lars Lindvall, chief forecaster at Arbetsförmedlingen, in a press release.

A positive signal is that the number of unemployed young people continues to decrease. At the end of September, 43,554 young people between 18 and 24 years old were registered as unemployed, a decrease from 45,378 the year before.

The statistics also show that 34,668 people found employment during September, an increase from 30,462 in the same month last year. The number of redundancy notices simultaneously decreased sharply, from 7,586 to 5,057 people.

Interest in climate issues declining among young Swedish women

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 14 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to a recent report, an increasing number of young women are turning away from climate alarmist issues.
2 minute read

Engagement with climate issues among young women is declining sharply, according to a recent survey. Meanwhile, issues such as healthcare, education, and crime are being prioritized increasingly higher.

A recently conducted survey reveals that young Swedish women are becoming significantly less passionate about modern left-leaning values such as climate alarmism.

According to the report Youth Focus 2025, climate issues have lost ground among Sweden’s young people. In 2019, 51 percent of young women considered climate the most important issue.

In this year’s report, the corresponding figure has dropped to 15 percent. Among young men, engagement has fallen from 34 to 13 percent.

We don’t talk much about climate, only in school, says 15-year-old Disa Magnusson in Södertälje, a city south of Stockholm, to publicly funded broadcaster SVT.

At the same time, the survey shows that young people today are more engaged in societal issues that affect their daily lives. Healthcare tops the list, followed by education and crime.

In this year’s report, we see a generation that feels concern about certain societal issues and wants to act for society’s benefit here and now, says Sofia Rasmussen, CEO of Rasmussen Analysis.

The same survey also demonstrates declining interest in feminism and gender equality among the country’s youth.

New priorities

Several of the young women who expressed themselves in the survey report that they feel greater trust in more conservative parties. Parties that profile themselves around more traditional values, with emphasis on order and security.

This is a development that could significantly impact Sweden’s future politics, especially when a generation that previously often identified with supposedly progressive left-wing values now shows a shift in interest and engagement.

Interviews with young women show that issues such as friendship, love, and high school are prioritized higher than climate.

People probably think they won’t be alive then, says Disa Magnusson about why climate issues don’t engage as much as before.

The survey demonstrates a clear shift toward issues perceived as more urgent and directly relevant in the daily lives of today’s youth.

At the same time, interest in long-term societal problems remains, but engagement has changed both in form and expression.

About the Youth Focus Survey

Youth Focus 2025, produced for the tenth consecutive year by the King's Foundation for Young Leadership (Konungens stiftelse Ungt Ledarskap) and Rasmussen Analys, aims to highlight young people's values and attitudes and to strengthen their role in society and working life.

This year's report is based on responses from 1,280 people, of which 1,018 are young people between 15–29 years old. The survey was conducted during the period May 13–20, 2025. To enable comparisons with other age groups, the survey also collected 262 responses from people born before 1995.

This makes it possible to distinguish what is unique to the younger generation from broader societal trends, while also enabling an analysis of how older respondents perceive and describe today's youth.

Source: Youth Focus 2025

More minors in Sweden are facing trial for serious offenses

organized crime

Published 14 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
A conviction ruling means that a court determines guilt, but since children under 15 are not criminally responsible in Sweden, no sentence is imposed.
1 minute read

The number of children under 15 who are brought to trial in so-called evidentiary proceedings has increased sharply over the past year. A large proportion of the cases involve murder and attempted murder.

Up to and including September this year, 68 children under 15 have been brought to trial in evidentiary proceedings. This is nearly double compared to the entire previous year, when 38 children were processed in this type of case. The year before that, in 2023, the number was only seven cases, according to the Swedish Prosecution Authority (Åklagarmyndigheten).

Senior prosecutor Maria Franzén at the Swedish Prosecution Authority sees the increase as a consequence of rising crime rates among children and young people.

Since the proportion of children participating in this type of crime is increasing, it’s an expected effect that the number of cases with evidentiary proceedings also increases, she tells Swedish public radio SR.

Not criminally responsible

Of the 68 children, a full 43 are suspected of involvement in murder, preparation for murder, or attempted murder. Among the high-profile cases is a then 13-year-old boy who allegedly shot and killed a person with connections to criminal networks inside a restaurant.

An evidentiary proceeding means that a court determines the question of guilt, but since children under 15 are not criminally responsible under Swedish law, no sentence is imposed.

Evidentiary proceedings are a good tool for social services to implement appropriate interventions for these children who have committed these crimes, says August Knutsson at the Swedish Police Authority’s national operations center.

Swedish deputy PM seeks ban on burqa and niqab

The Islamization of Europe

Published 13 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Busch argues that the veils express a strict interpretation of Islam that conflicts with Swedish values.
2 minute read

Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch proposes a ban on burqa and niqab in public spaces. She argues that the ban is needed to combat honor-based oppression, among other things.

The proposal is part of a “development initiative for increased social cohesion” that a working group within the Christian Democrats (KD) has prepared for the autumn.

Busch argues that niqab and burqa are expressions of a strict interpretation of Islam that is incompatible with Swedish values.

Islam must adapt in Sweden. One can be a proud Swedish Muslim, Christian, Jew, atheist, but it is fundamental Swedish values that must apply to all of us, she tells the Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet.

She points out that Sweden must “wake up” from the naivety that has placed the country in a culture war where more and more people live under honor-based oppression.

It is that type of very naive liberalism, or lax Social Democrat politics, that has brought Sweden to the situation we are in today. With a failed integration that currently means that approximately a quarter of a million young people in Sweden are estimated to live under honor-based oppression-like circumstances.

“Both women’s oppression and honor-based oppression”

The ban would cover, for example, public places such as squares, shopping centers and healthcare facilities. The proposal has not yet been anchored with the other Tidö parties (the Swedish center-right governing coalition). However, opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats (S) says she is prepared to discuss such a ban.

Both burqa and niqab are expressions of both women’s oppression and honor-based oppression, and that is something we Social Democrats distance ourselves from. Exactly how to deal with it, I am prepared to discuss and look at, says Andersson during yesterday’s party leader debate on SVT.

In Denmark, a similar ban was voted through in 2018, which means that covering one’s face in public places is prohibited.

During the Christian Democrats’ party congress in November, the proposal will be put to a vote.

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