November 2019, Year XI, n. 11
Anna König Jerlmyr
The High-Quality Living Mayor
Telos: In Italy the Prime Minister is indicated by the Parliament. However, every time there are talks about changing the Constitution and go for a direct popular election, people use the expression ‘The Mayor of Italy’. This seems to imply that Mayors have more power to impact on their citizens’ everyday life even than the Head of the Government. Does this apply also to Sweden?
Anna König Jerlmyr: As Mayor of Stockholm I have the overall responsibility to ensure that all functions of the municipality of Stockholm live up to its duties. The municipality is responsible of many different areas of everyday life, for example schools, elder care, maintence of parks and streets and many other things ...more
Editorial
It isn’t easy to understand what happened in Sweden after the September 2018 elections. What we really need to do is take a closer – albeit brief - look. On the same day, both the national and local elections were held. This marked a turning point for Sweden - a model country in terms of welfare and competitiveness - that saw an increase in local sovereignists. For example, the new anti-migrant right - Sverige Demokraterna (SD) headed by its young leader Jimmie Akesson, who has turned into a xenophobe in a double-breasted suit - obtained almost 18% of the votes in Parliament. This vote just goes to show how difficult it would have been for anyone to govern without taking into account the SD’s proposals: mass refusals, closed borders and letting the people decide on future relations with the European Union ...more
SocialTelos