In the shadow of the global meeting in Copenhagen, life goes on in Sweden and Stockholm. Today is the traditional day of celebrating Saint Lucia and this celebration of light is needed these days. The grey and mild weather which has laid a siege Stockholm for a month continued this week. Usually the short time of daylight is compensated with some white snow but apparently not yet. I cannot help to wonder about the climate effect.

Nobel festivities: Full of beauty and a sting of seriousness
The prize ceremony was as usual held in Stockholm´s Concert Hall. The Diploma and a check of SEK 10 million was handed out to each of the prize awarders in physics, chemistry, medicine and literature personally by the King. The Nobel Banquet in the evening was according to tradition held in Stockholm City Hall. This is the Mecca for fashion journalists who can closely watch and evaluate the (mostly female) dresses.

Usually Queen Silvia and the two Princesses are scrutinised the most. This year, it was a general comment that Crown Princess Victoria was beautifully dressed with a purple silk dress. She also wore the Sixbutton-diadem which is a part of the Crown jewelry.

The evening dinner went on according to tradition with the secret menu, the entertainment and speeches by the prize receivers. But when Literature prize receiver Hertha Müller held her speech, a cold wind went through the hall. Her speech (held in German) was strong and emotional and pointed the edge against the former dictatorship of Romania but also countries today such as Iran, Russia and China, which she claimed see human rights as Stalinists and Maoists see them. A brave speech, probably not very popular among some.

A "negative" week
The week has otherwise been characterised by a rather negative flow of news. Just some examples:
- On Monday, a survey showed a dramatic decrease in the confidence for the national railway company SJ. Delays and bad service were the main complaints.
- On Tuesday, Ericson decided to put down the whole plant in Gävle, 200 km north of Stockholm. Around 1000 jobs will be lost in the city of only 90.000 people.
- On Wednesday 40 persons were arrested for crimes related to steroids in a nation-wide razzia. It shows that the problem is big in Sweden. On the same day, results from an international measure showed that Swedish pupils are loosing ability in maths and physics compared to other countries.
- On Friday, the Swedish Tax Agency reported that cheating for about SEK 500 million have been discovered 2009. Of 200 cafés, 180 had manipulated their cash systems to avoid tax.

Examples of PhD students from Pakistan, China and Kenya shows that there are differences between the Swedish and foreign labour force that would never have been accepted in other areas. The foreign PhD students usually spend four years in Sweden, they do their research and get a PhD degree and they are most often funded by scholarships from their home countries. For the Swedish universities this means almost free labour doing research for them.

PM Reinfeldt and Johan Rockström got recognition
Even if the week has been full of bad or worse news, there is one good piece of news for Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. He has gotten fine remarks from different voices in Europe for his and Sweden´s way of leading the EU during these last six months. Many foreign analysts see the Swedish presidency as smooth, competent and modest.

The other person who got recognition this week is Johan Rockström. He was awarded the title "The Swede of the year" by Swedish weekly magazine Fokus. The motivation of the jury is Rockström´s hard work and engagement for sustainable development. Rockström is director for Stockholm Resilience Centre and Stockholm Environment Institute.

Two Swedish wifes in USA and a blond young man
Finally some gossip. The Swedish tabloids have been full of details from the Tiger Woods´ infidelity affairs against his Swedish wife Elin Nordegren. He has now declared on his homepage that he will quit golf for some time and focus on his family.

The parents of Elin Nordegren are to some degree celebrities in Sweden. Her mother, Barbro Holmberg is a former cabinet minister and is today a governor in Sweden. Her father Thomas Nordegren is a popular programme leader for a radio talk show. Both parents have refused to comment on the issue publicly. The mother went to Elin Nordegren in Florida this week to spend some time with her. When she arrived however, she got seriously ill and was taken to hospital.

The second gossip story concerns the (in)famous Swedish Hollywood wife Anna Anka, who before upset the whole political correct Sweden with her views on a wifes´ "duties" She and her husband Paul Anka will now have a divorce it seems.

Finally, the Swedish Idol had its final programme and the winner was Erik Grönwall, a blond young man with a good voice. The Swedish Idol has been followed by a good part of the Swedish population during the autumn.
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We wish you all a good week. Snow is expected so drive, bicycle or walk carefully.

Mats Öhlén
mats.ohlen@stockholmnews.com