Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Right-wing parties back Norlén, gangs 'recruited children over summer', passport queues, and Södermalm explosion: find out what's going on in Sweden with The Local's roundup.
Right-wing parties agree to bring back Norlén as Speaker
The four parties backing Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson as prime minister on Sunday announced that they have agreed to vote on Monday to keep the current Speaker, Andreas Norlén in place. They have also agreed that the Sweden Democrats will hold eight out of the 16 chairmanships the bloc has of parliamentary committees.
In a joint press release, the parties said that Norlén had under the last four years shown that he has "the necessary personal qualities and qualifications which the role requires".
The decision was praised by Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, who said that Norlén had "managed his responsibilities well over the past four years and been a good representative of Sweden's Riksdag."
Under the agreement, the right-wing parties have also nominated Julia Kronlid as the second deputy Speaker, a decision that was opposed by the Left Party, who accused Kronlid of wanting to tighten abortion laws.
Swedish vocab: erforderlig – required/necessary
Police fear more children recruited to gangs over summer
Police have warned that gangs in Sweden have been recruiting school children when they are free during the summer months, with officers fearing that these children will then be put to use in their networks in the autumn.
"I am extremely worried that this is going to continue," said Carin Götblad, senior police at the Swedish police's National Operative Division NOA.
Swedish vocab: oro – worry
Pandemic effect means a two-month wait for a passport in Sweden
It is still taking at least two months to renew a passport in Sweden, with police hoping to get waiting times down to normal by December.
According to Per Engström, the police officer brought in to lead the police's crisis response to the situation, the police had so far offered three million passport application visits, compared to two million in a normal year.
He said that in future, the passport office would send sms reminders to people whose passports are about to expire to avoid such a rush in the months leading up to the summer.
Most regions can now offer passport application appointments without unusual delays, with the exception of Eastern Sweden and Bergslagen, where there are no appointments for seven to eight weeks. What is causing the delay elsewhere is the time taken to print and deliver the documents.
Swedish vocab: väntetider – waiting times
Major explosion in Södermalm, Stockholm, on Friday night
Many of the 20 people evacuated after an explosion in an apartment building in the trendy Stockholm district of Södermalm were allowed to return home on Sunday.
The explosion took place in the stairwell of the building, and one person was taken in to be interviewed by police and then released. There is currently no suspect for the blast.
Police are considering whether the attack is connected to one which took place in Huvudsta in Solna on Thursday evening.
Swedish vocab: en koppling – a connection
Comments
See Also
Right-wing parties agree to bring back Norlén as Speaker
The four parties backing Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson as prime minister on Sunday announced that they have agreed to vote on Monday to keep the current Speaker, Andreas Norlén in place. They have also agreed that the Sweden Democrats will hold eight out of the 16 chairmanships the bloc has of parliamentary committees.
In a joint press release, the parties said that Norlén had under the last four years shown that he has "the necessary personal qualities and qualifications which the role requires".
The decision was praised by Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson, who said that Norlén had "managed his responsibilities well over the past four years and been a good representative of Sweden's Riksdag."
Under the agreement, the right-wing parties have also nominated Julia Kronlid as the second deputy Speaker, a decision that was opposed by the Left Party, who accused Kronlid of wanting to tighten abortion laws.
Swedish vocab: erforderlig – required/necessary
Police fear more children recruited to gangs over summer
Police have warned that gangs in Sweden have been recruiting school children when they are free during the summer months, with officers fearing that these children will then be put to use in their networks in the autumn.
"I am extremely worried that this is going to continue," said Carin Götblad, senior police at the Swedish police's National Operative Division NOA.
Swedish vocab: oro – worry
Pandemic effect means a two-month wait for a passport in Sweden
It is still taking at least two months to renew a passport in Sweden, with police hoping to get waiting times down to normal by December.
According to Per Engström, the police officer brought in to lead the police's crisis response to the situation, the police had so far offered three million passport application visits, compared to two million in a normal year.
He said that in future, the passport office would send sms reminders to people whose passports are about to expire to avoid such a rush in the months leading up to the summer.
Most regions can now offer passport application appointments without unusual delays, with the exception of Eastern Sweden and Bergslagen, where there are no appointments for seven to eight weeks. What is causing the delay elsewhere is the time taken to print and deliver the documents.
Swedish vocab: väntetider – waiting times
Major explosion in Södermalm, Stockholm, on Friday night
Many of the 20 people evacuated after an explosion in an apartment building in the trendy Stockholm district of Södermalm were allowed to return home on Sunday.
The explosion took place in the stairwell of the building, and one person was taken in to be interviewed by police and then released. There is currently no suspect for the blast.
Police are considering whether the attack is connected to one which took place in Huvudsta in Solna on Thursday evening.
Swedish vocab: en koppling – a connection
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.