Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
SD hate crime, the march for Adriana, student loans and a new Moderate fuel tax pledge: find out what's going on in Sweden with The Local's roundup
Sweden Democrat politician charged for praising Hitler
A politician for the populist Sweden Democrat party has been charged with hate crimes after his social media account posted a picture of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and compared black people to monkeys.
Mikael Lundin, the deputy chair of the Sweden Democrats in the city of Östersund in northwest Sweden, was charged with hate crimes after the organisation Näthatsgranskaren (the internet hate investigator), reported him to the police for a series of posts made by his profile on the Russian social media group VK.
The posts included a series of pictures praising Hitler, including one with the words “our oath: all for Germany”, and one comparing black people with apes, according to the prosecutor in the case.
He also in 2017 posted a picture that called for Sweden’s then Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven to be assassinated.
Lundin denies making the posts, claiming that someone in his household may have been using his account.
“I cannot give away that much now, but a lot of things are going to come out during the court case,” he told the anti-extremist website Expo. “It may be that someone has logged into my account and posted stuff up there.”
Swedish Vocab: en Hitler-hyllning – a tribute to Hitler
Top politicians join march for murdered 12-year-old
Leading politicians from at least five of Sweden's political parties on Tuesday night joined a march marking the shooting of 12-year-old 'Adriana' in the Stockholm suburb of Botkyrka in 2020.
Sweden's Justice Minister Morgan Johansson, Moderate Party group leader Tobias Billström, Green Party leader Märta Stenevi, Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch, and Liberal leader Johan Pehrson, all joined the march, indicating the importance of the issue of gang crime in this year's election campaign.
Adriana was out walking her dog when she was caught in the crossfire of a gang conflict.
Swedish vocab: skjutvapenvåld – gun violence
Student loans in Sweden much higher next year
CSN, Sweden's student loans authority, has told TT that the hike in the interest rates it charges in the New Year could be significantly higher than previously expected, due to rising base interest rates and a government.
According to the agency, the interest rate it charges, which was a historically low zero this year, could rise to 0.64 percent next year, meaning a former student with an average loan of 166,000 kronor could be paying some 1,000 kronor a year.
As well as the Riksbank central rate, Sweden's government also intends to make CSN foot the bill for loans that go unpaid, whereas until now the costs of bad debts have been borne by the state budget, with a decision taken in the coming budget this autumn.
Swedish vocab: en höjning – a rise
Moderates call for suspension of fuel tax inflation link
Sweden's opposition Moderate Party has called for a temporary suspension in the linkage between petrol and diesel tax with Sweden's consumer price index, or KPI, in a new election pledge.
Under current rules, the amount of tax levied on petrol and diesel is pegged to the index, meaning that the taxation rate on fuel rises at the same rate as prices of other consumer goods. However, the party believes that after a year of high consumer price inflation, the link should be suspended to help consumers handle rising costs.
"To take the whole of this year's surge in prices and bring it into next year will be extremely expensive, and even more expensive for people who are dependent on their cars," Niklas Wykman, the party's tax policy spokesperson, told TT, estimating that if the Moderates' proposal is brought in, a normal family would save 500 to 1,000 kronor in tax over the year.
Swedish vocab: beroende – dependent
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Sweden Democrat politician charged for praising Hitler
A politician for the populist Sweden Democrat party has been charged with hate crimes after his social media account posted a picture of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and compared black people to monkeys.
Mikael Lundin, the deputy chair of the Sweden Democrats in the city of Östersund in northwest Sweden, was charged with hate crimes after the organisation Näthatsgranskaren (the internet hate investigator), reported him to the police for a series of posts made by his profile on the Russian social media group VK.
The posts included a series of pictures praising Hitler, including one with the words “our oath: all for Germany”, and one comparing black people with apes, according to the prosecutor in the case.
He also in 2017 posted a picture that called for Sweden’s then Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven to be assassinated.
Lundin denies making the posts, claiming that someone in his household may have been using his account.
“I cannot give away that much now, but a lot of things are going to come out during the court case,” he told the anti-extremist website Expo. “It may be that someone has logged into my account and posted stuff up there.”
Swedish Vocab: en Hitler-hyllning – a tribute to Hitler
Top politicians join march for murdered 12-year-old
Leading politicians from at least five of Sweden's political parties on Tuesday night joined a march marking the shooting of 12-year-old 'Adriana' in the Stockholm suburb of Botkyrka in 2020.
Sweden's Justice Minister Morgan Johansson, Moderate Party group leader Tobias Billström, Green Party leader Märta Stenevi, Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch, and Liberal leader Johan Pehrson, all joined the march, indicating the importance of the issue of gang crime in this year's election campaign.
Adriana was out walking her dog when she was caught in the crossfire of a gang conflict.
Swedish vocab: skjutvapenvåld – gun violence
Student loans in Sweden much higher next year
CSN, Sweden's student loans authority, has told TT that the hike in the interest rates it charges in the New Year could be significantly higher than previously expected, due to rising base interest rates and a government.
According to the agency, the interest rate it charges, which was a historically low zero this year, could rise to 0.64 percent next year, meaning a former student with an average loan of 166,000 kronor could be paying some 1,000 kronor a year.
As well as the Riksbank central rate, Sweden's government also intends to make CSN foot the bill for loans that go unpaid, whereas until now the costs of bad debts have been borne by the state budget, with a decision taken in the coming budget this autumn.
Swedish vocab: en höjning – a rise
Moderates call for suspension of fuel tax inflation link
Sweden's opposition Moderate Party has called for a temporary suspension in the linkage between petrol and diesel tax with Sweden's consumer price index, or KPI, in a new election pledge.
Under current rules, the amount of tax levied on petrol and diesel is pegged to the index, meaning that the taxation rate on fuel rises at the same rate as prices of other consumer goods. However, the party believes that after a year of high consumer price inflation, the link should be suspended to help consumers handle rising costs.
"To take the whole of this year's surge in prices and bring it into next year will be extremely expensive, and even more expensive for people who are dependent on their cars," Niklas Wykman, the party's tax policy spokesperson, told TT, estimating that if the Moderates' proposal is brought in, a normal family would save 500 to 1,000 kronor in tax over the year.
Swedish vocab: beroende – dependent
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