I’ll say it again: I am well aware that Americans have zero moral authority to give lectures on pandemic-response or mask-wearing. The American response to the pandemic has been completely awful, and I will die mad at all of these maskless morons squealing about “mah freedum.” Americans with sense have looked enviously at European leadership during the pandemic – while there are major exceptions, so many countries in Europe have just been smarter and more thoughtful in their approach to lockdowns, paying people to stay home, supporting businesses and mask-mandates. One of those exceptions: Sweden. Sweden became a contrarian test case in Europe, never mandating masks and simply encouraging social distancing here or there. The Swedish royals and other public figures rarely wore masks, and Sweden seemed to aim for “herd immunity” for months before abandoning that strategy. They also put more money and support into their hospital infrastructure, which they needed because they ended up with some of the highest infection rates in Europe. Now Sweden’s King Carl Gustaf is saying that Sweden failed.
The King of Sweden has spoken out against the country’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in a rare rebuff.
“I think we have failed,” King Carl XVI Gustaf said in an excerpt of his pre-recorded Christmas interview, which will be broadcast December 21. “A large number have died, and that is terrible.”
Unlike many European countries, Sweden has avoided a full lockdown amid the pandemic, instead relying on voluntary guidelines. According to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Sweden, over 8,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Sweden, the highest in the Nordic region. Of those who have died of COVID-19 in Sweden, nearly 90% were 70 years or older, a study by country’s independent coronavirus commission found.
“The people of Sweden have suffered tremendously in difficult conditions,” the Swedish monarch said. “One thinks of all the family members who have happened to be unable to say goodbye to their deceased family members. I think it is a tough and traumatic experience not to be able to say a warm goodbye.”
King Carl Gustaf, who is 74, also feared being infected himself: “Lately, it has felt more obvious, it has crept closer and closer. That’s not what you want.”
The King’s son, Prince Carl Philip, and daughter-in-law, Princess Sofia, tested positive for COVID-19 last month after experiencing flu-like symptoms. The news came shortly after royal family members gathered to mourn Queen Silvia’s brother, Walther Sommerlath, who died on October 23 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
I mean, more than 8000 people have died of coronavirus in America in just the past three days. So the Swedish standard is different, but it’s still f–king devastating in both countries and all around the world. I appreciate the fact that at least he’s admitting it, and at least he’s saying “yeah, we absolutely could have done better.” It’s not like America’s current leadership will admit that they f–ked up completely.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Well at least he’s honest, a rarity these days.
He is. That’s something.
I cannot express my love for bunads (or whatever they’re called there; I’m of Norwegian descent) enough. Glad to see it pictured!
Yeah, Sweden, thanks for not hearing the rest of us screaming at you since early spring. Exceptionalism is a hell of a drug. Eejits.
IKR?
The rest of Europe went full Tom Cruise and they were like “we are doing our way!”
The worst part is that maskless idiots here used the Sweden way as an example “did you in Sweden?” Was a sort of mantra I have heard for months. And now they are admitting THE mistake, people are still bragging about maskless Sweden.
This! Swedish arrogance came back to bite them in the hindquarters.
Reuters just tweeted beautiful photos of people in Wuhan enjoying some night life now that their restrictions have eased a bit.
I’ll admit it, I was really happy for them, but felt envious. It’s nice to hear a leader owning up to failures in COVID response, just wishing things had been different for us here in the US.
As sad (not sad, but I can’t think of the right word) as it is to all in Sweden who have suffered or lost their lives, I can respect a leader who owns up to their mistakes.
He thinks THEY failed? Has he heard of the US?
He’s not in charge in the US. He was addressing the Swedish people.
Ummm Sweden’s population is 10 million around the size of LA county. They’ve f’ed up royally.
The numbers, especially compared to their neighboring countries, have shown this to be the case for many months now.
Does he have any real power over the situation, though? I mean other than setting public example by wearing masks, I just assumed this is another figurehead monarchy that wouldn’t be able establish health policies or mandate anything.
The Swedish king has only ceremonial duties. Parliament removed any constitutional duties years ago.
Although he’s stating the obvious, I wonder how the Prime Minister of Sweden feels about the outspoken figure head King of Sweden publicly commenting the the government f*cked up on the handling of the pandemic. Isn’t this a big no-no?
I am guessing the PM got him to take the soap box and admit the shame given that he is technically the head of state.
Sweden’s health minister admitted errors in policy earlier this week I believe. Sweden has been held up as model for many anti lockdown, general covididiots so glad people at the top in Sweden seem to be saying actually we got it wrong.
Boris & Lilibet would never
It pains me to know that innocent people have died or been harmed needlessly. But, as sad as it is to say, I am glad to hear him admit the Swedish strategy was a failure. I know way too many people who believed and still believe that herd immunity is the way to go. And their go to example was always Sweden. “Look at restaurants in Sweden they’re still operating normally” and “Sweden hasn’t shut down, so why have we?”. Now look at Sweden, how much better off are they than their neighbors?
It was obvious since the spring. And trump wanted to go the herd immunity route too – as indicated the leaked email and his non-action. But people here and in the UK love to point to Sweden as an example of masks and lockdown not working, even though it obvious that the policy is failing Sweden
From everything I’ve read about the Swedish approach, it was at least based in science. It turned out to be a completely misguided and inaccurate hypothesis, but at least it began with some kind of coherent plan. It wasn’t based on the deliberate ignorance, presidential narcissism, and knee-jerk populism that we have in the US.
Their per-capita death rate is really high especially compared to their neighbor countries Finland and Norway. The Nordic region is not very densely populated at all, so it’s very different from countries like the United States. Sweden has a few big cities like Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, but much of its population is not clustered in high density areas. I follow a lot of Swedish influencer girls/artists/creatives on social media and most of them appear to behave cautiously and have been avoiding gatherings and restaurant dining for the duration of the pandemic. In other words, at least some of the Swedes are putting themselves in quarantine because they don’t trust their government’s strategy. What’s ironic is the Swedish rationale for not locking down was to protect the economy, but their economy is suffering now anyway, when once again their neighboring countries are faring better on that front too.
This should be a bigger headline. The number of times I hear people citing the Swedish approach as something we should emulate … it’s as though they only check the news once a quarter.
On a more lighthearted note, the royal lady next to King Carl is bringing the Midsommar vibes!