“Many dead, the government has failed” – Corriere.it

On the options of fighting against Covid by the king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, the government “seems to me that it has failed.” “We have a very high number of deaths and this is terrible.” The bottom line of Sweden’s counter-current policy in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic seems to come in the king’s speech. King Carl XVI Gustaf spoke on STV state television, in the traditional program “Year with the Royals” in which he takes stock of the last 12 months. 2020, he said, was “a terrible year.” At the end of the day, the country, the only one in Europe that did not impose restrictions or confinements but only “recommendations” to the population until a few weeks ago, this year has registered 7,800 deaths and 350,000 cases, rates much higher than those of the countries neighbors. with comparable densities and health systems (Norway, for example, recorded only 402 deaths). Prime Minister Stefan Lofven called a press conference in the early afternoon: “I think we have acted promptly,” he said, “and I have faith in my government.”

The king’s speech

“The Swedish people,” said King Carlos XVI Gustav, “He suffered tremendously in conditions more difficult than adequate. We only think of those who have not managed to say goodbye to a deceased relative. A difficult, traumatic experience: not being able to say a warm goodbye. To journalists who asked if he is afraid of taking Covid-19, the king frankly replied: “Lately it seems almost obvious. It gets closer and closer. Sure, I wouldn’t like it. ‘ In a word, he said, 2020 was “an exceptional year. The term perhaps encompasses everything. But also terrible, considering all the people who have died and the pain and helplessness of many families, and also of companies that have fallen to their knees. Swedish newspapers agree: The king’s speech, they all write, is “decidedly out of the ordinary, there is no precedent for such a critical intervention”, then for example theExpressen.