It was a very strange feeling leaving the UK via Gatwick which was completely desolate with very few people and services operating. It seemed rather like a ghost town in North terminal. It felt as if we were escaping the ‘new normal’. On travelling by plane to Copenhagen, when arriving at passport control there seemed to be a long interrogation of passengers which was disconcerting. After mentioning we were visiting Sweden we were hurried along without question. The borders are open now between Denmark and Sweden but it seems that we were some of the first few to be able to come across with our British passports....into the Red zone.
Of course, we have come to visit our family who live just over the border between Malmo and Lund, in a part of Sweden which was previously old Denmark. As soon as we crossed the border it was the norm not to see masks in the general population. Life seemed pretty normal.
Angers Tegnell, the now famous renegade epidemiologist directing the pandemic in a more relaxed way than in the UK. There was no lockdown although there is social distancing and an expectation people will stay at home if sick. His hope is that the virus will slowly spread through the population. Although there are more deaths here the hospitals are not overwhelmed and many of the problems occurred in care homes which stemmed from a similar cause, as in the UK. This was lack of PPE and visitors to homes spreading the virus. I have visited 2 care homes in former visits which are clean , relaxed and well managed places which depended on the support from the ‘commmune’ or local authority. These took different approaches to how they managed the pandemic depending on where you live. The main problems seem to be around Stockholm.
The interesting and very noticeable difference is that the Swedish are far less scared and are more compliant compared to the regular disputes and negative media in the UK towards authorities. They pay high tax and depend on the state to protect them. Everything is more expensive. Angers communicates calm ‘accountable stability’ without doom-mongering metaphorical language we hear in the UK . The emphasis is on good communication so people can make informed choice. People have more trust in those who are in authority and tend to respect decisions. The Swedes tend not to like confrontation and stay within the ‘status quo’ for a quiet life. You see this everywhere in daily life , reflected in the shops, the schools and nurseries. To the rebellious English this may seem boring but there are many advantages at times like this.
It is not a case of comparing Sweden as it is not a case of ‘ like with like’ . There is a small population the size of London spread out over a large area, with a well developed health system and a good baseline of public health and public awareness. The norm is to keep active and active using outdoor parks and countryside as well managed family weekend destinations with clean picnic areas and outdoor gyms alongside country paths with quant coffee shops blending the new post modern with the former Industrial and agricultural Age iconography. The whole of July is a vacation for the Swedes who go to their summer houses, many on the South Coast.
Similarly to the UK people are re appraising the way they live and work. The growth of technology as a norm, a spotlight on long term conditions and unhealthy lifestyles and their risk and rebalancing the work home, family life balance towards more flexible working. There is more of a level playing field with more people living on a good wage compared to lower paid key workers in the uK but here there is little entrepreneurialism. Daily life is very different, as people value their time off and their quality of life, the infrastructure is amazing and people will not travel far to work. It is egalitarian between the sexes and much more feminist which some Brits might struggle with.
What I will take away with me is the easy going relaxed approach to life and contentment with a more simple and healthier way of living, good design and wonderful infrastructure which makes travel a dream with plenty of safe choices from walking, use of bikes, roads and trains. I can understand how good it is here for parents of young children with well-thought out play grounds in so many areas to enjoy outside which are respected by everyone. I’m living the moment here and enjoying the contrast for now.