Inside Sweden: How 'fikagate' started a row over free coffee
The Local's editor Emma Löfgren writes about the biggest stories of the week in our Inside Sweden newsletter.
Hej,
How many cups of coffee do you have a day?
I usually make it through the day on one morning coffee, although that one is absolutely essential if I'm to have any kind of functioning day at all.
One cup is far fewer than most Swedes, though. The ones I know from my parents' generation have a morning coffee, a mid-morning coffee, a post-lunch coffee, a mid-afternoon coffee, a post-dinner coffee and a bedtime coffee.
Before you say anything: No, I'm not exaggerating.
Swedes are known for being heavy coffee drinkers, preferably together with a sweet snack – as everyone knows after the global fika trend in recent years.
So it's no surprise that an exposé by union magazine Kommunalarbetaren, which showed that one out of four Swedish municipalities don't offer free coffee to their assistant nurses and child carers (generally people who work in elderly care homes and preschools), caused a stir in Sweden this week.
Partly, it's cultural.
Gratis kaffe is a treasured, treasured concept in Sweden. There's a joke that Swedes will go to their grandmother's funeral and be excited that gratis kaffe was served after the service. And it's more or less expected in workplaces. It's a perk that's almost seen as being up there with salaries and parental leave.
But as The Local's deputy editor Becky Waterton explains in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus, there's a more serious aspect to this story as well.
In other news
Last year, Sweden’s Migration Agency issued 40,000 fewer residence permits than in 2022, with the largest drop seen in the asylum category. But work permits also decreased. We took a look at the new stats this week.
Traces of cocaine were found in four of the eight Swedish parties' offices in parliament, an investigative report by the Aftonbladet newspaper revealed.
Märta Stenevi, one of the Green Party’s two spokespeople, is going on sick leave due to being worn out. She said in a post on Instagram that taking sick leave has been "difficult to accept", but is speaking out in order to avoid rumours and "contributing to the culture of silence around going on sick leave".
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson last week cast doubt on the willingness of naturalised Swedes to defend the country. But new Swedish citizens are not less patriotic, and making Swedish citizenship rules less generous won’t make Sweden safer, argued The Local's publisher James Savage this week.
There were also a lot of weather stories this week, as a snowstorm swept across the country. I recommend checking out readers' snow pictures in this thread on The Local's Facebook page – and this old article from our archives.
Thanks for reading,
Emma Löfgren
Editor, The Local Sweden
Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members that gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences.
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Hej,
How many cups of coffee do you have a day?
I usually make it through the day on one morning coffee, although that one is absolutely essential if I'm to have any kind of functioning day at all.
One cup is far fewer than most Swedes, though. The ones I know from my parents' generation have a morning coffee, a mid-morning coffee, a post-lunch coffee, a mid-afternoon coffee, a post-dinner coffee and a bedtime coffee.
Before you say anything: No, I'm not exaggerating.
Swedes are known for being heavy coffee drinkers, preferably together with a sweet snack – as everyone knows after the global fika trend in recent years.
So it's no surprise that an exposé by union magazine Kommunalarbetaren, which showed that one out of four Swedish municipalities don't offer free coffee to their assistant nurses and child carers (generally people who work in elderly care homes and preschools), caused a stir in Sweden this week.
Partly, it's cultural.
Gratis kaffe is a treasured, treasured concept in Sweden. There's a joke that Swedes will go to their grandmother's funeral and be excited that gratis kaffe was served after the service. And it's more or less expected in workplaces. It's a perk that's almost seen as being up there with salaries and parental leave.
But as The Local's deputy editor Becky Waterton explains in the latest episode of Sweden in Focus, there's a more serious aspect to this story as well.
In other news
Last year, Sweden’s Migration Agency issued 40,000 fewer residence permits than in 2022, with the largest drop seen in the asylum category. But work permits also decreased. We took a look at the new stats this week.
Traces of cocaine were found in four of the eight Swedish parties' offices in parliament, an investigative report by the Aftonbladet newspaper revealed.
Märta Stenevi, one of the Green Party’s two spokespeople, is going on sick leave due to being worn out. She said in a post on Instagram that taking sick leave has been "difficult to accept", but is speaking out in order to avoid rumours and "contributing to the culture of silence around going on sick leave".
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson last week cast doubt on the willingness of naturalised Swedes to defend the country. But new Swedish citizens are not less patriotic, and making Swedish citizenship rules less generous won’t make Sweden safer, argued The Local's publisher James Savage this week.
There were also a lot of weather stories this week, as a snowstorm swept across the country. I recommend checking out readers' snow pictures in this thread on The Local's Facebook page – and this old article from our archives.
Thanks for reading,
Emma Löfgren
Editor, The Local Sweden
Inside Sweden is our weekly newsletter for members that gives you news, analysis and, sometimes, takes you behind the scenes at The Local. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences.
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