Sunday, October 19, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

The World in 2030: Five questions for Mikael Jansson, former leader of the Sweden Democrats

Published 17 May 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Mikael Jansson was the former leader of the Sweden Democrats and is a veteran of Nordic opposition politics.
4 minute read

Washington Post recently stated what media outside of the West have been saying for quite some time the influence of the United States is declining, and the world is becoming increasingly multipolar. TNT reached out and asked Mikael Jansson, former leader of the Sweden Democrats, five questions about the future and development in the world.

What will the world look like in 2030?

– Everything indicates that the world will be multipolar in 2030. I think that the future of the BRICS countries is quite easy to predict, but it is more difficult to do for the Western world. We don’t know if the US will continue to strive for unipolarity. When you look at these different blocs, I believe more countries will join BRICS and that they will be quite successful with their collaboration and trade.

The dollar will lose its role as a reserve currency, that is quite clear.

Militarily, it seems that China will become as strong as the US, or maybe even stronger.

The US military has probably rested on its laurels and has not developed its potential. Their systems are quite old.

There will be a very large military buildup in many countries – not least among the great powers.

The war in Ukraine?

– This was not a war that Russia wanted. They did not want to see Ukraine in NATO. They defend Crimea and they defend the population in Donbass. I don’t think the US cares that much about Ukraine, the war is very much about wearing down Russia.

These sanctions against Russia have not worked as initially thought, that is to get Russia down on its knees. This outcome has probably surprised many.

Russia apparently prepared this together with China and it feels like things are going according to plan, for them.

It may be that China agreed that Russia could cross the border to Ukraine. Without China’s support, this would otherwise have been a huge risk.

There are international rules and sometimes they are broken: NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia… the US military presence in Syria… Russia’s presence in Ukraine.

How serious is the threat from the Russian Federation against Sweden and the Nordic region?

– Most people seem to think that the most dangerous threat is for Russia to expand westward and take several countries in a western direction. This is based on a flawed analysis because they have no military power built to occupy countries.

In modern times, this does not work very well. Occupying a country with a hostile population is very expensive. Notwithstanding this, the risk for a Russian invasion do exist for militarily and strategically important spots and where there is a Russian population, such as in the Baltic states – where a situation similar to Ukraine could arise.

The threat that I see as much more dangerous, now that Sweden and Finland are joining NATO, is that there will be a very strong military buildup and that the members will become front states equipped with American systems. Putin has said that he does not see Sweden and Finland as a threat, not even when NATO members – as long as they do not allow the US and UK to set up military installations on their territories.

I can see the US bringing in installations into Sweden and Finland and the Russians responding to that, and then the debate in Sweden will [only] be that we need to respond to the Russian buildup – I see this as a very big risk, but also the risk of war by mistake.

Sweden’s and Finland’s membership in NATO?

– I’m only against Swedish and Finnish membership. NATO is the balance against Russia. I’m not against NATO. I’m not against Russia. We used to have a system which worked and where it was known that Finland and Sweden were non-aggressive.

The risk of a major war between Russia and the West?

– I assess that neither the US nor Russia wants a nuclear war, but the risk increase with these new faster weapon systems. Another risk is that Ukraine, for example, would use some kind of medium-range missile to hit an important target in Russia.

The use of tactical nuclear weapons can lead to escalation.

Some say it doesn’t matter which president the US chooses, but to me, Biden and Trump represent a very big difference.

The US has caused a lot of trouble in its pursuit of unipolarity…it always threatens other countries…it’s ongoing.

The West has a lot of problems. You see it in the US and France – there is blood on the streets.

It feels like this [US] administration is continuing in the same direction and trying even harder. There are political scientists in the US who believe that the US would thrive in a multipolar world. It is very expensive to keep the military relationships going. … They probably have no choice because I don’t think they will be able to counteract the multipolar world.

 

The Nordic Times

Mikael Jansson was the party leader of the Sweden Democrats between 1995-2005. He was later elected to the Swedish Parliament and was a member of the Defence Committee between 2010-2018. In April 2018, Jansson left the Sweden Democrats and joined the smaller breakaway party Alternative for Sweden.

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Finland was a European model – now homelessness is rising again

Welfare collapse

Published yesterday 14:37
– By Editorial Staff
Getting off the streets is extremely difficult once you end up there.
3 minute read

Finland has long been a model in the fight against homelessness, but now the trend is reversing.

For the first time since 2012, the number of homeless people is increasing – and street homelessness among young people is rising sharply.

Julius Virtavuori has lived without permanent housing for over two decades. When Yle (Finnish public broadcaster) meets him at the Tupa supported housing facility in Helsinki, Finland, he reflects on his situation.

— It’s quite a long time. I think these are probably the last years I’ll be in this situation. There are apartments in Finland after all.

The hardest part is the feeling of lacking goals, he tells them.

— You take one day at a time. There’s nothing to build your life on long-term. And the side effects that homelessness brings – a certain use of intoxicants. That boom is long past for me, now I just take it easy.

Successful model under pressure

Julius’s situation is not unique, but Finland has for many years worked systematically to reduce homelessness. The country has been a pioneer in Europe, primarily through the so-called “Housing First principle”.

The model means that homeless people first receive their own apartment with a rental contract, and then support services tailored to individual needs. Instead of requiring people to first solve their social or health problems to qualify for housing, the order is reversed – housing comes first. The approach has received broad international attention and shown good results.

But according to a recent report from the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (formerly ARA), the trend has been broken. For the first time since 2012, homelessness is increasing again.

At the end of 2024, 3,806 homeless people were registered in Finland. Particularly alarming is the increase in rough sleeping – people sleeping outdoors, in stairwells, or in temporary shelters. A total of 649 people lived under these conditions, which is 230 more than the previous year.

However, the figures are only indicative, as homelessness is difficult to measure exactly. A person who sleeps at an acquaintance’s place one night may be forced to sleep on the street or in a stairwell the next night.

“Very alarming”

Emergency housing units report a sharp increase in young people falling outside society’s support measures and being forced to sleep on the street.

Jussi Lehtonen, service manager at the organization Vailla vakinaista asuntoa (Without Permanent Housing), has worked with homelessness issues for over 30 years. He sees the increasing youth homelessness as particularly worrying.

— It’s very alarming, because young people have their whole lives ahead of them. It shows for years afterward if they end up in that situation. And it would be very important to get them out of that situation quickly, says Lehtonen.

He believes that homelessness is often a consequence of too few affordable homes combined with cuts in benefit systems, which has made it harder for people with small incomes to manage financially.

— Ending up on the street is harmful in many different ways. For some, homelessness becomes chronic. The social network is reformed, and you have quite a lot to do with people who are on the street. Anyone understands that’s not good, Lehtonen states.

Majority in Iceland wants to separate church and state

Published yesterday 11:31
– By Editorial Staff
Church in Hof, Iceland.
1 minute read

Just over half of Icelanders support a separation of church and state, according to a new survey from polling institute Prósent. Support is strongest in the capital region and among young voters.

In Iceland, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (Þjóðkirkjan) is a state church and holds a special status under the country’s constitution. Approximately 58.6 percent of Icelanders belong to this church.

In the survey, which included 2,000 Icelanders, 52 percent stated they support a separation between church and state, while 21 percent oppose it. An additional 27 percent indicated they are neither for nor against, reports RUV, Iceland’s national broadcaster.

In the Reykjavik capital region, 58 percent support separation, compared to 39 percent in rural areas. Among the youngest respondents, support reaches 71 percent, while opinions in the oldest age group are evenly divided.

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

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