In front of the Coop department store in Haparanna, right next to the Finnish border, it has been a popular place for parties to campaign in these elections as well.
On the Thursday of the election week, however, only the candidates of the Left Alliance had started. Perhaps the others were gathering strength to invest in visibility in the last meters before the actual election day on Sunday.
So, on Sunday in Sweden, representatives are elected for the Diet, regional administration and municipal councils.
Combating violent crime and immigration have become big national themes.
“This is a crisis situation”
However, gang crime with its mild manifestations is not number one on the list of concerns of the northern Swedish voter. Medical care, on the other hand, is.
Returning from a shopping trip Rut Innala does not hesitate to raise medical care as the number one challenge for future decision-makers in the country, regions and municipalities.
– Good medical care. There is practically no dental care in the municipality of Haparanna. This is a crisis situation. There is one dentist on the public side, and dental care is becoming a class issue for us.
There is also concern about the shrinking of health services and the lack of personnel Agneta Olofsson. He states that there is not only a shortage of nurses in Norrbotten, but of all healthcare professionals.
– Politicians must ensure that healthcare workers are guaranteed good working conditions, a reasonable work environment and more say in matters concerning their work.
The medical party failed
The regional administration, or the former county councils – in the northernmost county, Region Norrbotten – has a big responsibility in Swedish society. The most important and biggest task of regional administrations is to be responsible for health care.
In Sweden’s northernmost county, the regional election now takes on special importance, because the past election period has been quite a storm in the health care of the county.
Services have been cut drastically, there is an unprecedented shortage of healthcare workers, and access to treatment is severely hampered. The majority of the people of Norrbotten are not only furious, but also think that the region’s health care is in a real crisis and the decision-makers need to be changed.
The situation culminated already last summer, when the head of the regional administration Anna-Stina Nordmark-Nilsson had to resign from his post. (you switch to another service) (SVT)
The shortage of personnel and treatment places led to the Norrbotten association of the doctors’ union terminating the cooperation agreement with the regional administration citing a lack of trust. In addition, 170 doctors published an open letter about the alarming state of medical care.
In light of all this, it is no surprise to anyone that the hospital party, which won the regional elections in the last election, can now experience a crushing defeat. It cannot explain all failure with a pandemic.
According to an opinion poll published at the end of August, the party’s support is about to collapse from 35 percent in the previous election to around 12 percent.
The Democrats have identified their wounds and are striving to become the number one party
The 2018 elections were a big disappointment for the Northern Social Democrats. The party lost the position of the largest party in the regional council, which it had held for more than 80 years.
Now the party, which has gradually recovered from the bumps caused by the defeat, is improving its positions. Support in the regional elections has approached 40 percent, while it was below 30 in the last election.
Of course, the Dems are also striving for power again in the northern municipalities, where they have had to make politics from the opposition.
For example, in Haparanna, power has been held for the last four years by a coalition that included the center, the coalition, the Christian Democrats and the hospital party, which, however, left the group in the middle of the season.
According to an opinion poll conducted a couple of weeks ago, the Sweden Democrats would get less than ten percent of the votes in the Norrbotten regional election. Instead, in the parliamentary elections, the Sweden Democrats would receive 19 percent of support from Norrbotten.
At least the moderate coalition and the left-wing party would increase their support in Norrbotten.
Whichever party is in power, it will have enough challenges in many areas in the coming years. From the northern point of view, there is also an order for regional politics, when decisions are made in the halls of the kingdom in Stockholm.
Prepared for winter frosts Janne Kähkönen hopes, among other things, that the right to cheaper electricity than the rest of the country will not be taken away from northern Swedes. In Sweden, electricity is cheapest in the north, where electricity is produced the most in relation to consumption.
– Some parties have wanted the prices to be unified. I hope it doesn’t come to this, says Kähkönen.
What thoughts did the story evoke? You can participate in the discussion with Tunnus on 10.9. until 11 p.m.
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