Sweden: from role model to paradise for the super-rich

Barcelona"We will regain control of the welfare state." This is one of the promises highlighted by the Swedish Social Democratic Party in its political program. (Six months)In the lead-up to the elections, the debate on the management of public services promises to be one of the key issues shaping the agenda. Sweden in the 1980s, under Olof Palme, became one of the pioneering countries in implementing a comprehensive welfare state and solidified its place in the global imagination as a model society to emulate. The myth, to a greater or lesser degree, persists, especially in Southern Europe, but the reality is that in Sweden much of the management of public services has been privatized, and that supposed welfare paradise no longer exists.

TheCatalan Encyclopedia The welfare state is defined as "the type of state intervention aimed at producing goods and services that are not profitable for the private sector." This definition has become completely distorted in present-day Sweden, where there is an increasing number of for-profit private companies operating in public services. This is especially true in education, but it is also a growing trend in healthcare and nursing homes.

Even when their management is privatized, these services remain 100% funded by the state—in healthcare, there is a co-payment model, with a limit of around 140 euros per year—and there are no restrictions on making profits and distributing dividends. This is the kind of model that has recently generated controversy. with the Torrejón de Ardoz Hospital scandal

Economic journalist Andreas Cervenka, author of the book Girig-Sverige [Greedy Sweden]—where he explains how Sweden has become a haven for the super-rich—indicates that the turning point was the economic crisis of the 1990s, which led to a very high public debt burden. "It was understood that we had to change our economic model to prevent it from happening again, and one of the things that was done was to reduce the size of the state." "We have been continuously reducing our welfare state for the last 30 years," he states. "The Swedish welfare system hasn't died, but it's very different from what it used to be, and it has gradually become one of the most market-oriented systems," he adds. "A market financed by taxpayers' money."

Åsa Plesner, a researcher at Stockholm University specializing in public service management, details how access to benefits for the sick and disabled has been restricted, while general family support has been maintained. "It's a way of targeting the most vulnerable groups, while cuts to middle-class families are avoided because they would face far more criticism from the mainstream media."

The government is responsible for social benefits, such as parental leave—among the most generous in the world—while municipalities handle education and care for the elderly, and regions manage healthcare. They receive approximately 20% of the state budget to fund these services. "The problem over the last 30 or 40 years has been that state funding for education and healthcare hasn't kept pace with rising wages and costs, and this austerity ultimately impacts the service."

He points out that, although the path to privatization began under a conservative government, subsequent social democratic governments have maintained or even worsened the trend. The clearest example is education: privatization began in 1992, but at that time only 75% of the cost was financed with public money. It was a left-wing government that mandated 100% public funding. "That's what really started the growth of for-profit private schools, because that's how you can make a profit," he says. "Between 20% and 30% of students in Sweden attend schools run by private companies, and the vast majority of these companies are for-profit and distribute dividends to their shareholders, even though their only income comes from the state," Plesner explains. "The only way they can make a profit with this type of funding is by cutting costs: reducing the number of teachers, paying them less, having smaller schools..." he summarizes. The Welfare State Oligarchs

In Sweden, large corporations manage schools. The AcadeMedia group, with more than 650 schools, is the largest education company in Northern Europe, operating not only in Sweden but also expanding to Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Finland. "By feeding off Swedish taxpayers, they have created an organization strong enough to begin operating in other countries as well," says the expert. This situation has brought to the forefront a concept in the Scandinavian country: the welfare state oligarchs. This model has become most widespread in education, but there are also business groups operating in nursing homes and, in some regions, in healthcare as well. In Stockholm, where the Social Democrats govern, public management has been restored to several services, such as emergency services at major hospitals and ambulance services. Healthcare staff, overburdened

“Our members have been warning about staff shortages and unsustainable workloads for many years,” says Sineva Ribeiro, president of the nursing union Vårdförbundet. She explains that in Sweden there are 15,000 registered nurses who are not working as nurses, and around 20,000 who have gone to Norway, where they are paid better and work fewer hours. This results in a very high patient-to-nurse ratio and forces professionals to work many hours of overtime. “Medical staff have the highest rate of sick leave of all workers in Sweden, and this is mostly related to stress,” Ribeiro laments. Two reports recently published by the Swedish Workplace Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket) confirm that working conditions in public services are deteriorating, mainly due to excessive workloads, especially among lower-skilled professions such as nursing assistants. The report asserts that productivity and financial targets are often prioritized at the expense of working conditions. After inspecting all hospitals with emergency departments in the country, the organization concluded that the situation is "alarming," citing issues such as corridors overflowing with patients; staff shortages and high turnover; long work shifts with no opportunity for recovery; and a lack of management support. "There is constant pressure to free up beds, that is, to send patients home as quickly as possible," laments Gustav (a pseudonym), a specialist physician at Skåne University Hospital, which has centers in Malmö and Lund in southern Sweden. He says that in the emergency department, patients who need to be admitted can sometimes wait one or even two days before getting a bed. “I’ve treated patients at home with potentially dangerous conditions, like a brain hemorrhage, who refuse to go to the emergency room because they know they could have to wait 12 to 16 hours,” she says. She explains that, in her first job, the ward where she worked ended up closing “because the staff were overwhelmed with stress and most of the nurses were doing double shifts.” “Sweden is financially sound and a strong country, but welfare funding has been neglected for a long time,” Ribeiro summarizes.