In Dagens Nyheter's issue of April 3, 2010 two former heads of the Swedish Development Aid Agency (SIDA)criticised Aid Minister Gunilla Carlsson's direction vis-a-vis the country's development aid policy as being nonchalant and lacking in genuine commitment.
Former SIDA heads Go Göransson and Carl Tham of the Social Democratic government stated that " it requires more - not less -of international responsibility-taking, cooperation and solidarity" and that Sweden must retake it leading position in international discussions on development aid. Accordingly, Carlsson along with the Moderate party secretary suggested a cutdown of development aid to 0.7 percent of the GNP.
Carlsson is promoting an "epoch-making reforms" - meaning, going from "passive payment policy" to "active developmental aid policy". She also wants results and auditing with reference to previous policies which she says were without requirements. Göransson and Tham stated that Swedish aid was never without requirements and auditing. But measuring results posed a greater challenge especially if several donors are involved in the same project, not to mention the contributions by the receiving countries themselves.
The basic problem accordingly, lies in the societies that need the most help and it is in this area where Carlsson ought to begin her analysis and discussion. She presumably considers development aid as a political area where the main issue is not what underdeveloped countries need and what form of aid is appropriate but rather what the Moderates can win approval for at home with Swedish voters. Development aid money is being cut down without deeper analyses and discussion with aid donors. In Ms. Carlsson's counting, the recipients should come down from 70 to 33 countries.
Göransson and Tham also stated that SIDA today has around 200 regular employees as a result of its cutdown and that Carlsson was critical of this, discounting the fact that there are around 250 well-qualified local employees who deliver a better performance and expertise in the field.
The issue on Swedish development aid policy needs greater discussion especially in defining what "developmental aid policy" means in actuality, with reference to the impact of the economic and financial crises that affected many poor countries, as well as the current environmental problems that plague both poor and rich nations. The discussion, according to the writers should be based on facts and experiences and not on ideological solutions and media bluffs.#
Monday, April 5, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Saving SAAB...Saving SAS
It has been a tiring start of the year for many involved parties in the gigantic task of saving first SAAB automobile and now saving SAS. For many small investors, the moments of anguish is even greater. It is not the intention just now to analyse what went wrong in the management of these blue chip companies and who did the worst damage that has led to the financial bleeding of both.
Today, Dagens Nyheter's editorial gave a pretty good analyses on the situation of SAS - the airline owned by the three Scandinavian countries. If one looks at the economies of these three owner-countries, one can only say that all three have handled well the financial crisis that nearly bankrupted the world economy. According to DN, the main problem of SAS lies in the composition of its major owners, the 30-plus unions sitting in the negotiation table and the difficulty of understanding just what, how and why decisions are made by whom among the major decisionmakers.
SAS has become a dinosaur that can hardly move in the tightly competitive aviation business. The service is bad if not lousy and for ordinary passengers expecting a modicum of comfort during travel time, SAS stands way back the other airlines in terms of service and competitive air ticket prices. Why is it so difficult to set standards of good service? What does it mean to be a Scandinavian airline as against an Asian airline?
SAS need saving, but how does one restructure an organisation that moves sluggishly? Where should the changes begin? What does the unions want? Until then, when such crucial management questions are answered then SAS is already doomed before it gets a new shot of billions in its arms#
Today, Dagens Nyheter's editorial gave a pretty good analyses on the situation of SAS - the airline owned by the three Scandinavian countries. If one looks at the economies of these three owner-countries, one can only say that all three have handled well the financial crisis that nearly bankrupted the world economy. According to DN, the main problem of SAS lies in the composition of its major owners, the 30-plus unions sitting in the negotiation table and the difficulty of understanding just what, how and why decisions are made by whom among the major decisionmakers.
SAS has become a dinosaur that can hardly move in the tightly competitive aviation business. The service is bad if not lousy and for ordinary passengers expecting a modicum of comfort during travel time, SAS stands way back the other airlines in terms of service and competitive air ticket prices. Why is it so difficult to set standards of good service? What does it mean to be a Scandinavian airline as against an Asian airline?
SAS need saving, but how does one restructure an organisation that moves sluggishly? Where should the changes begin? What does the unions want? Until then, when such crucial management questions are answered then SAS is already doomed before it gets a new shot of billions in its arms#
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Is Malmströms chance Sweden's?
Sweden's European Union presidency is nearing its end this December and it appears that Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has done his best to work on the priority issues during the last five months. The most important was to secure the cooperation of major countries like the United States, China and India in the forthcoming Summit Meeting on Climate Changes in Copenhagen. Although no iron-clad assurances were made by these countries during the prime minister's recent state visits, Reinfeldt has stated that he was hopeful the meeting will result in an agreement that meets the economic and environmental considerations of countries concerned.
The European Union has now entered a new phase whereby an EU president and a foreign minister have been chosen. The choice, when the names were announced created a ripple of surprises because they were unknown personalities in the EU galaxy of politicians. For months now, there were popular choices speculated for the presidency and the foreign minister posts. The final vote came as a total surprise.
Sweden will have a new EU commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, who is coming from the Liberal Party but who in her own right is an EU veteran. She will handle one of the toughest questions confronting the EU, that of asylum and migration as well as crime prevention. Dagens Nyheter stressed that tough policies are required today in the form of laws to curtail trafficking, organised crime and sexual exploitation of children as well as illegal immigration.
The asylum and migration issues continue to be a main thorn in the European Union's effort to accommodate refugees and asylum-seekers from countries in conflict. It is common knowledge that Sweden has taken more asylum-seekers than its economy can sustain, while other EU countries have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to pleas for greater humanity and solidarity in the burden-sharing of refugee intakes.
Sweden is a small country with a big heart. It is a welcome development that the next Swedish commisioner after Margot Wallström is a woman, who will hopefully deal with all these tough issues with both heart and mind. Europe is far from being a united union with common purposes and interests. The national interests of many EU member-states remain strong even if the national borders have become more porous.#
The European Union has now entered a new phase whereby an EU president and a foreign minister have been chosen. The choice, when the names were announced created a ripple of surprises because they were unknown personalities in the EU galaxy of politicians. For months now, there were popular choices speculated for the presidency and the foreign minister posts. The final vote came as a total surprise.
Sweden will have a new EU commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, who is coming from the Liberal Party but who in her own right is an EU veteran. She will handle one of the toughest questions confronting the EU, that of asylum and migration as well as crime prevention. Dagens Nyheter stressed that tough policies are required today in the form of laws to curtail trafficking, organised crime and sexual exploitation of children as well as illegal immigration.
The asylum and migration issues continue to be a main thorn in the European Union's effort to accommodate refugees and asylum-seekers from countries in conflict. It is common knowledge that Sweden has taken more asylum-seekers than its economy can sustain, while other EU countries have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to pleas for greater humanity and solidarity in the burden-sharing of refugee intakes.
Sweden is a small country with a big heart. It is a welcome development that the next Swedish commisioner after Margot Wallström is a woman, who will hopefully deal with all these tough issues with both heart and mind. Europe is far from being a united union with common purposes and interests. The national interests of many EU member-states remain strong even if the national borders have become more porous.#
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Truth missing in party leaders' talks
Shortly after the Eu parliamentary elections last Sunday, June 7 this year - the leaders of Sweden's two biggest parties gave glowing views on the result of the elections. Mona Sahlin, leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party stated that "it was blowing red-green winds" while Moderate Party leader and current Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt spoke of "success" made in the elections.
DN Columnist Peter Wolodarski questioned such statements as lacking truth and pointed out that both parties were losers as they lost supporters to the Liberal and Green Parties. Such lack of candidness contributes to falsity in the public debate, and if both party leaders cannot admit the truth of losing, then who else would?
Those who made big inroad into the EU elections were smaller parties, even one new upstart whose pro-EU views were better understood by voters. For one, the Social Democratic Party prominently placed as its first candidate a known anti-EU politician. The Green Party which made a dramatic switch towards EU membership drew strong votes and went up from 6 to 11 percent. For most Swedes, membership in the EU is a certainty which makes anti-EU politicians less palatable to the voters.
The Swedish EU election had a low electoral turnout which indicated a lack of interest among voters, if not a lack of good knowledge on how exactly the politics in Brussels affect the individual lives of every Swedish citizen. The success of the newly-started Pirat Party and the Sverigedemokraterna is an indication of discontent among a majority of the Swedish electorate, creating a state of apprehension not just for the forthcoming national elections in 2010, but in how Sweden will cope with a deepening economic crisis.#
DN Columnist Peter Wolodarski questioned such statements as lacking truth and pointed out that both parties were losers as they lost supporters to the Liberal and Green Parties. Such lack of candidness contributes to falsity in the public debate, and if both party leaders cannot admit the truth of losing, then who else would?
Those who made big inroad into the EU elections were smaller parties, even one new upstart whose pro-EU views were better understood by voters. For one, the Social Democratic Party prominently placed as its first candidate a known anti-EU politician. The Green Party which made a dramatic switch towards EU membership drew strong votes and went up from 6 to 11 percent. For most Swedes, membership in the EU is a certainty which makes anti-EU politicians less palatable to the voters.
The Swedish EU election had a low electoral turnout which indicated a lack of interest among voters, if not a lack of good knowledge on how exactly the politics in Brussels affect the individual lives of every Swedish citizen. The success of the newly-started Pirat Party and the Sverigedemokraterna is an indication of discontent among a majority of the Swedish electorate, creating a state of apprehension not just for the forthcoming national elections in 2010, but in how Sweden will cope with a deepening economic crisis.#
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Swedish Moderate Party leaders criticise EU's growth strategy
Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Minister of Finance Anders Borg presented today in Dagens Nyheter's Debate, the Moderate Party's job manifesto five days before the EU parliamentary elections on Sunday, June 7th. A sustainable public sector finance should be the cornerstone in a new EU strategy for growth, they stated. The Lisbon strategy should have made the EU the world's most competitive economy in 2010, but even if some progress were made the strategy was a failure, they said. An overhaul and re-start is necessary already by autumn 2009 when Sweden takes over the EU Presidency, thus making the issue a priority question in the coming 5-year period, Reinfeldt and Borg wrote.
The two Moderate Party leaders claim that the strong measures adopted to cushion the impact of the financial crises lead to stable state finances, in comparison to those taken by countries like Great Britain, Ireland and Lithuania which resulted in severe cutbacks in state welfare budgets and increased public debts. " We want Sweden to be an example in the work against the crisis and a driving force for EU's becoming a strong force for common traffic rules in the finance markets, responsibility and long-sightedness when it comes to economic policies, as well as correct response for recovery. "It is for this reason that we in Sweden and in EU will look closely at short-term policies that risk making economic recovery harder and enabling unemployment to get deep-seated", they stated.
"It is important to remember that EU, even before the crisis already battled with bad growth conditions, a serious situation of immigrants standing outside the labour market and several member-countries inability to show sustainable public finances. Along with an aging population and the growing needs for welfare services which are old unsolved issues, there are new ones that need to be addressed. It is therefore necessary to have a long-term reform policy for more jobs and economic growth", Reinfeldt and Borg wrote.# (Translations made from DN, Debate June 2, 2009)
The two Moderate Party leaders claim that the strong measures adopted to cushion the impact of the financial crises lead to stable state finances, in comparison to those taken by countries like Great Britain, Ireland and Lithuania which resulted in severe cutbacks in state welfare budgets and increased public debts. " We want Sweden to be an example in the work against the crisis and a driving force for EU's becoming a strong force for common traffic rules in the finance markets, responsibility and long-sightedness when it comes to economic policies, as well as correct response for recovery. "It is for this reason that we in Sweden and in EU will look closely at short-term policies that risk making economic recovery harder and enabling unemployment to get deep-seated", they stated.
"It is important to remember that EU, even before the crisis already battled with bad growth conditions, a serious situation of immigrants standing outside the labour market and several member-countries inability to show sustainable public finances. Along with an aging population and the growing needs for welfare services which are old unsolved issues, there are new ones that need to be addressed. It is therefore necessary to have a long-term reform policy for more jobs and economic growth", Reinfeldt and Borg wrote.# (Translations made from DN, Debate June 2, 2009)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Carl Bildt on challenges facing the Swedish EU Presidency
Sweden's most important agenda for 2009 is the European Union Presidency in the second half of this year. Foreign Minister Carl Bildt outlined the tasks, challenges and problems facing the Swedish presidency in an article he wrote for Dagens Nyheter's Debatt page, in the beginning of this month.
Bildt wrote that, the climate issue - which is closest to the heart of the Swedish agenda, will face difficulties because of the economic crisis. "Weak states and destroyed areas will need bigger support from EU than what Iceland and Lithuania got," he stated. " During 2009, the various consequences of the crisis must be dealt with in Sweden and in our own sorrounding. Not in the least, the global warming crisis must be prevented, which is more difficult as a result of the recessionary downtrend and the financial crisis. Populistic driven protectionism risks making the economic crisis doubly worse, in particular if the negotiations on world trade is not successfully done."
Sweden has now entered the "European year" - participating as member of the EU troika in the first half year; the EU parliamentary elections this coming June and later, the EU presidency. Bildt said that, "we live in a world that is less safe and stable than what we thought a year ago." After a long period of exceptional economic growth, world trade will contract and global growth will go down to a zero level as more advanced countries sink into a recession. The situation could get even worse if the world trade negotiation fails.
Outside of the worst economic scenario, the urgent challenge is the global warming crisis that must be prevented from rapidly deteriorating. The decision made in 2008 has made Europe the main green force in the global dialogue. This task is facing dramatic dialogues between major actors like the USA, China, India, Brazil among others.
Bildt stressed that, a major partnership between USA - under newly-elected President Barack Obama, and the EU is of utmost importance, "if we will have the possibility to tackle the major global challenges as well as engaging other countries in the undertakings."#
Bildt wrote that, the climate issue - which is closest to the heart of the Swedish agenda, will face difficulties because of the economic crisis. "Weak states and destroyed areas will need bigger support from EU than what Iceland and Lithuania got," he stated. " During 2009, the various consequences of the crisis must be dealt with in Sweden and in our own sorrounding. Not in the least, the global warming crisis must be prevented, which is more difficult as a result of the recessionary downtrend and the financial crisis. Populistic driven protectionism risks making the economic crisis doubly worse, in particular if the negotiations on world trade is not successfully done."
Sweden has now entered the "European year" - participating as member of the EU troika in the first half year; the EU parliamentary elections this coming June and later, the EU presidency. Bildt said that, "we live in a world that is less safe and stable than what we thought a year ago." After a long period of exceptional economic growth, world trade will contract and global growth will go down to a zero level as more advanced countries sink into a recession. The situation could get even worse if the world trade negotiation fails.
Outside of the worst economic scenario, the urgent challenge is the global warming crisis that must be prevented from rapidly deteriorating. The decision made in 2008 has made Europe the main green force in the global dialogue. This task is facing dramatic dialogues between major actors like the USA, China, India, Brazil among others.
Bildt stressed that, a major partnership between USA - under newly-elected President Barack Obama, and the EU is of utmost importance, "if we will have the possibility to tackle the major global challenges as well as engaging other countries in the undertakings."#
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Swedish car rescue plan in a dilemma
Swedish Industry Minister Maud Olofsson will be facing a tough parliamentary question session on Tuesday, Dec. 16, when the opposition Socialist Party demands to hear a clearer verdict on the bailout of SEK28 billion earlier promised to the car manufacturing industry. It is a question of whether the coalition government is going to pursue said bailout or is simply misleading the industry and the Swedish people.
"If it shows that the government's crisis package is not actually SEK28 billion as promised, then it is serious", says Tomas Eneroth, spokesman for the Socialist Party Industry Committee. He wants to see the bailout papers on Olofsson's table.
Last Thursday, Dec. 11 the coalition government through Finance Minister Anders Borg and Industry Minister Olofsson, presented the rescue package for the car industry which consists of a SEK28 billion financial injection.
The billions from the European Investment Bank (EIB) can not be loaned directly to either SaaB or Volvo since they are both owned by the American company Ford or GM, and not either to Opel in Germany. The problem is that they are under a common financial system with their respective US owners.
"It would mean that if (these car companies) were given the rescue money at this time and GM or Ford declares bankruptcy, the money would simply disappear into a black hole, without a cent left. This is a huge amount for Europe and even if both US companies were to survive, they could announce that they will develop new car technologies in Detroit, for which European taxpayers will not be too happy to get involved in, much less pay for," said Lars Holmquist, European car sub-contractor.
Holmquist believes that the Swedish government would want to build a new company, something of a Swedish car development type, with the state as primary owner and thereafter place the multi-billion rescue money into this new organisation designed to develop new technologies such as petrol-saving engines and hybrids. Then later, Saab and Volvo could be allowed to use these technologies to meet the present demand for environment-friendly vehicles. In this way, the Americans could not lay hands on the rescue money but could later avail of the results of the research.
As far as the EIB rescue money is concerned, the SEK20 billion is earmarked for the European car industry for 2009. The money will not be paid during a one year term but within a period of four years up to 2012. It is hoped that with several car manufacturers needing financial help, the amount promised by EIB will be increased accordingly.
(Translated and edited from Dagens Nyheter, 14 Dec. 2008)
"If it shows that the government's crisis package is not actually SEK28 billion as promised, then it is serious", says Tomas Eneroth, spokesman for the Socialist Party Industry Committee. He wants to see the bailout papers on Olofsson's table.
Last Thursday, Dec. 11 the coalition government through Finance Minister Anders Borg and Industry Minister Olofsson, presented the rescue package for the car industry which consists of a SEK28 billion financial injection.
The billions from the European Investment Bank (EIB) can not be loaned directly to either SaaB or Volvo since they are both owned by the American company Ford or GM, and not either to Opel in Germany. The problem is that they are under a common financial system with their respective US owners.
"It would mean that if (these car companies) were given the rescue money at this time and GM or Ford declares bankruptcy, the money would simply disappear into a black hole, without a cent left. This is a huge amount for Europe and even if both US companies were to survive, they could announce that they will develop new car technologies in Detroit, for which European taxpayers will not be too happy to get involved in, much less pay for," said Lars Holmquist, European car sub-contractor.
Holmquist believes that the Swedish government would want to build a new company, something of a Swedish car development type, with the state as primary owner and thereafter place the multi-billion rescue money into this new organisation designed to develop new technologies such as petrol-saving engines and hybrids. Then later, Saab and Volvo could be allowed to use these technologies to meet the present demand for environment-friendly vehicles. In this way, the Americans could not lay hands on the rescue money but could later avail of the results of the research.
As far as the EIB rescue money is concerned, the SEK20 billion is earmarked for the European car industry for 2009. The money will not be paid during a one year term but within a period of four years up to 2012. It is hoped that with several car manufacturers needing financial help, the amount promised by EIB will be increased accordingly.
(Translated and edited from Dagens Nyheter, 14 Dec. 2008)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
