That Swedish politicians are keen to be seen in public accompanied by a sausage is not a new discovery – the 2022 parliamentary elections are also in no way the first election campaign marked by sausage posing. But what do you want to communicate to the voters with just one hot dog?
– By borrowing from the everydayness of industrial sausages, you become ordinary yourself. It also becomes more common than if you had chosen an expensive artisan sausage, or a foreign sausage such as a salsiccia or bratwurst. So an election campaign sausage is always a sausage with bread or a falu sausage, says Richard Tellström to SVT Nyheter.
“A little surprised..”
Then he believes that the sausage does not necessarily have to be the only method to signal Swedishness and everydayness.
– A crispbread sandwich with cheese also signals historical Swedishness, so does grilled salmon with a delicious mustard sauce. I am a little surprised that the party leaders have not yet discovered the potential of the pickled herring. It has a spicy history but at the same time allows endless opportunities to be innovative and future-oriented, says Richard Tellström.
Is there any active Swedish party leader who hasn’t posed with a sausage? See an overview of the politicians’ relationship with the sausage in the video above.