Sweden Democrats see lowest support in three years in new poll 

Support for the populist Sweden Democrats is at its lowest point in three years, while the Green Party is back above the four percent threshold for entering parliament, according to a new Ipsos poll for Dagens Nyheter.

The share of respondents who said they would vote for the Sweden Democrats fell from 19 percent to 18 percent between March and April, while the share who said they would vote Green has risen to four percent from three percent.

The biggest fall was for the Social Democrats, who fell from a sky-high 33 percent in March to 30 percent in April. 

Far-right extremist blocked from two new protests

The Danish far-right extremist Rasmus Paludan has had applications for two demonstrations on Saturday, in Trollhättan and Örebro, turned down by police, on the grounds that the applications were made at too short notice. 

The police in western Sweden said that while it was important to protect the right to demonstrate, “according to the order law the application needs to be made in writing and in good time”. 

Swedish Vocab: en ansökning – an application

Russia expels Swedish diplomats in retaliation for ‘hostile actions’

Moscow on Tuesday said it was expelling three Swedish diplomats after Stockholm expelled three Russian diplomats over the conflict in Ukraine, despite Sweden saying four were dismissed.

Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement it summoned the Swedish ambassador to Russia and “strongly protested” the expulsion of Russian diplomats and Sweden’s “military support to the Kyiv regime”.

It also accused Sweden of “covering up the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists against the civilian population of Donbas and Ukraine,” referring to a region in eastern Ukraine, parts of which are controlled by pro-Russia separatists.

“In response to this, the Russian side decided to declare persona non grata three diplomats of the Swedish embassy in Russia,” the ministry said.

In early April, Sweden said it was expelling three Russian diplomats who conducted “illegal operations”, following similar moves by other EU allies.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde said the action was “very regrettable,” but said that a total of four diplomats had been expelled — three from the embassy in Moscow and another at the Swedish consulate in Saint Petersburg

Swedish Vocab: att utvisa – to expel

Sweden’s welfare minister ‘leaning towards yes’ on Nato

Sweden’s welfare minister Ardalan Sherkarabi has said that he is now ‘leaning towards yes’ on the question of whether to join Nato, in a further sign of the Social Democrats’ slow but steady shift in position. 

“I haven’t yet landed 100 percent on a conclusion but I’m leaning towards that one,” he said. “The reason that I haven’t made and statement on my position is that I’ve been in an exploratory phase.” 

Swedish Vocab: att lutar åt – to lean towards

Sweden to miss emissions reductions required under Paris Agreement 

Sweden is now certain to blow its ‘carbon budget’ of the emissions it can release if it is to have a chance of making the reductions required to meet its share of what’s needed to keep global warming to 1.5C, the goal of the Paris Agreement. 

According to new research from Uppsala University, Sweden at the start of 2020 had just 170 million tons of carbon emissions left in its budget, if there is to be a 50 percent chance of reaching the 1.5C goal. 

It currently released 50m tonnes a year, meaning the country has only 3.5 years to go until its budget is used up.

“Any way we calculate it, the climate policy framework and plans from the rich, industrialised countries fall far from the ambition of being in line with the Paris Agreement,” said Isak Stoddard, a PhD student at Uppsala University. 

Swedish Vocab: att räkna – to count/calculate