Scandinavia

Quiet and Cold Summer in the North

With respect to the weather, the 2007 summer in Scandinavia was primarily characterized by frequent rainfalls and low temperatures. As in many other parts of the world, these irregular weather conditions have been seen as a result of global warming


By ANDERS KUSK
The APEM Summer Review


The three Scandinavian countries, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, are often referred to as "bicycle kingdoms", due to their conservation of constitutional monarchies with no political power, their stable and egalitarian political and social conditions and environmentalist population. This summer in Scandinavia did not differ much from this general, quiet image. However, the three small countries in Northern Europe did have certain important issues to deal with.

Arctic Conquest

With respect to the weather, the 2007 summer in Scandinavia was primarily characterized by frequent rainfalls and low temperatures. As in many other parts of the world, these irregular weather conditions have been seen as a result of global warming. However, while it becomes still more evident that global warming holds grave consequences for the planet, many politicians and business leaders in Scandinavian countries actually views one specific effect of climate change with positive expectations: the gradual melting of the Artic ice cap. That the ice cap is diminishing could eventually result in the creation of new waterways in the Artic region that will make many parts of the world able to trade without relying on the Suez and Panama channels. In addition, and potentially more important, global warming could ease the extraction of potentially huge abundant natural resources in the Arctic underground - especially crude oil. Needless to say, most countries near the Arctic Sea are eager to secure their interests in the region. Lately, this has resulted in many curious initiatives: Especially Russia claiming the North Pole by planting a flag at the bottom of the sea with a submarine drew a lot of attention this summer. The Scandinavian countries are also quite active in the area, with Norway bordering the region directly and Denmark wielding sovereignty over Greenland. During the summer a joint Danish-Swedish team undertook an expedition to the North Pole. In addition, a long territorial dispute between Denmark and Canada, concerning the tiny rock "Hans Island" in the potentially oil-rich Davis Strait, is still unsettled although tensions have eased lately when an agreement about scientific cooperation in the region was signed between the two countries.

Denmark: Iraq and upcoming elections

In Denmark, the withdrawal of approximately 500 Danish troops from Iraq became one of the most significant turns in Danish foreign policy since the events of 9/11. The Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has been among President George W. Bush's most stable and committed allies in Iraq since the beginning of the war. Before the pull-out, Denmark was the only remaining Scandinavia country participating in the Iraq coalition since Norway's pull-out in 2006. As violence in Iraq has increased and the justifications behind the war have weakened, the Fogh Rasmussen-government has been faced with growing public opposition, political criticism and heightened media focus. Furthermore, the withdrawal of the troops was carried out, at a strategic time for the Danish government. There is a strong possibility of an upcoming parliamentary election in the near future. In addition, the Danish political climate during this summer has been heavily characterized by the creation of the "New Alliance" party, lead by Syrian Born MP Naser Khader, after having split with the social liberal party (Radikale Venstre). The party's profile is strongly liberal, especially in the context of a traditional highly social democratic society as Denmark. The party promises to work for the introduction of a flat, 40% tax in Denmark. Equally important, the party hopes to reduce (or remove) the liberal-conservative government reliance of nationalist-populist Danish People's Party, which has supported the government since it was elected to power in 2002. This party has been the driving force in making the Danish immigrant legislation to one of Europe's most restrictive. Whether the New-Alliance party will succeed in fulfilling its aims remains to be seen, but the deck is definitely stacked to an upcoming election in Denmark.

Sweden: Economic recovery and rising housing prices

The Swedish political climate was characterized by some unrest in the Social Democratic party who lost government power in 2006 to a centre-right coalition. Lately the MP and former minister, Ulrika Messing, left the party and the parliament on the grounds that politics and family life did not work together. With respect to the Swedish economy, the country has left a long period in the 90s where the Swedish economy lacked behind its Scandinavian neighbours and suffered from unemployment and sluggish growth, Sweden has indeed started to recover. Investment and growth has gone up and unemployment is going down. However, this renewed optimism in Sweden has also resulted in huge inflation in the housing market with prices for apartments rising around 15% in Stockholm during the first 6 months of the year. In culture, the death of movie director Ingmar Bergman was a great loss for Sweden and its cultural scene. The renowned and highly productive director was famous all over the world for his magnificent plays, such as "Smiles of a Summer Night", "The Seventh Seal" and "Virgin Spring". Bergman died 89 years old and was buried on the Swedish island of Farö.

Norway: Royal Angles or Hell's Angles

In Norway, the royal family has indeed been in the centre of negative media attention this summer. It is far from first time that the Norwegian monarchy has been a matter of controversy. In 2001, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus married Mette Marit, a civilian, who had a child from a former relationship and later admitted to have experimented with drugs during her youth at rave parties in Oslo. This summer the controversy has centred round Haakon's younger sister, Princess Märtha Louise, who, according to herself, possesses supernatural abilities. More specifically the Princess claims that she can communicate with angles and animals. Subsequently, the Princess has started a school, teaching alternative medicine and how to communicate with angles. Her abilities and undertakings have sparked huge controversy in Norway from many sides. Televangelist Jan Hanvold called her "an emissary from hell" while the Swedish author Jan Guillou stated that she should "seek treatment". Whether the princess' "angles" can help her gain her popularity back remains to be seen, but at the moment things are quite stormy in the vicinity of the royal castle in Oslo.