Swedish election in the Guardian

As the thief I am I just pinched a link. The article was written a few weeks before the election here in Sweden that took place in the beginning of September. When one listen to the news about the politics in other countries, whether it has to do with lying about the politics that a party is planning to conduct or the obvious unwillingness from a state to make a statement that they oppose the killing of an uncomfortable journalist or what ever it might be, and then compare it to the outcries about unpaid licens to for having public service TV/radio (which of course is an illegal act that is morally wrong, especially for high politicians)*, one (=just me?) wonder if people here have any sence of perspective.

Extract from the article:

"Ask why and familiar human politics emerge. Plain boredom is part of the story. Fifty-seven-year-old Goran Persson has stayed far too long: his party failed to push him in time. Chilly and uncharismatic, after 10 years he is now a severe liability - and "time for a change" is a strong card for any opposition. For lack of political excitement, government peccadilloes become inflated into "scandals". When hundreds of Swedish holiday-makers drowned in the tsunami, the government was slow to send military planes to collect survivors and may have covered up who was to blame - but that's hardly Watergate. Nor was the "scandal" of a minister using her official credit card to buy a bar of chocolate - but she had to resign. Politics abhors a vacuum and boredom can be toxic."

I wonder what the writer is thinking now, after the elections with plenty of "typical Swedish scandals", one after another.

So sometimes I just wonder if people realise how privileged they are here in Sweden COMPARED to many other places in some areas...One should ALWAYS strive for making the country better, but just as long as one also can appretiate the good things that we do have. What if people put a fraction of the energy they put on complaining about Sweden on doing something for others, outside these borders... and there is painfully many things to do.

The entire article:

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-24-2006-106532.asp


*the new government just had to sack a couple of ministers because of that among other things before even really started to work. One said she couldn't AFFORD to hire a maid (which is QUITE unusual in Sweden to begin with!) white, even if she and her husband made about 16 million SEK (=1 705 666,01 EUR, or 2 137 037,53 USD) during that decade. It is good they got sacked, or left, since the've lost all credability as ministers.

Btw. I heard yesterday that the minister of aid/development assistance is really complaining that she got too MUCH money to use on aid! The other parties in the government pretty much had to FORCE her to take the money. Wow, I never actually though anyone could complain on getting too MUCH money, especially to help people. History is written...