Good morning!
It’s Friday, February 13.
Please ignore the date and day. the incredible Swedish achievements at the 2026 Winter Olympics so far. If you haven’t seen the recaps of the Swedish women’s ski triumphs yet, do yourself a favour and watch them. I can’t recommend them enough.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Phil
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Word of the week
FÖRTROENDE [feur-TRO-en-deh]
trust; confidence.
Sweden’s Golden Start to the 2026 Olympics
Attribution: Hallands Nyheter
Sweden is gliding through the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics with the kind of confidence that makes you wonder if the snow itself is cheering them on. With eight medals already — four of them gold — the Swedes are proving that calm precision and Nordic grit are a winning combination.
Team Sweden’s cross-country skiers have turned the Italian Alps into their personal playground. Frida Karlsson has been unstoppable – quite literally – claiming gold in both the 10 km freestyle and the 20 km skiathlon, while teammate Ebba Andersson followed close behind with silver in both events.
The sprint classical was a full-on Swedish sweep — Linn Svahn, Jonna Sundling, and Maja Dahlqvist locked out the podium in a show of dominance rarely seen outside of training videos. It’s the kind of result that makes you double-check the scoreboard just to be sure it’s real.
And it’s not just the skiers carrying the flag high. In curling, the sibling duo Isabella and Rasmus Wranå delivered a golden performance in mixed doubles, outplaying the U.S. and Italy with icy precision.
With four golds, three silvers, and one bronze, Sweden sits comfortably among the Olympic elite — and the games are far from over. If this momentum holds, the blue and yellow might just paint the podium their favorite colors. At least that’s what we keep telling ourselves.
Postcard from the North
Helagsfjället
In other news
👑 Princess Sofia says she is relieved that her contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was limited to just a few brief encounters. She explains that they met only in social settings, including at a restaurant and a film screening. The princess adds that she has since learned about Epstein’s crimes and expresses sympathy for his victims.
💗 Condom use has increased in Sweden, with 42% of people reporting use in the past year — the highest level in the Nordic region — according to a survey by RFSU reported by TT. The increase is especially notable among young people aged 16–20, where 70% reported using condoms, up from 61% in 2024, reversing a previous downward trend. More people also say they find it easy to suggest condom use with a new partner.
♀️ Only six of the 32 top positions in Sweden’s parliamentary committees and the EU Affairs Committee are held by women, according to a review by public radio SR Ekot. This means 26 chair and vice chair roles are occupied by men, despite women making up nearly half of all members of parliament, and the number of women in these roles has declined since the last election. Gender Equality Minister Nina Larsson criticized the imbalance, calling it “far too poor” and stressing the importance of representation and role models.
Resignation and Deportation Case Fuel Sweden’s Migration Debate
Attribution: Omni News
Fresh controversy around Sweden’s migration policy is intensifying after a senior ethics advisor resigned in protest and a high-profile deportation case involving an infant exposed the real-world impact of recent legal changes.
Sweden’s migration debate escalated this week after political scientist Ludvig Beckman stepped down from the Migration Agency’s ethics council, saying recent deportation practices clash with democratic values. Beckman, who had served since 2019, said the council risks legitimizing policies he believes disregard individual rights, particularly pointing to deportations of fully integrated teenagers who have just turned 18. While he said the council can have a positive influence, he ultimately concluded that “the line has been crossed.” The ethics council advises the agency’s director general on complex moral issues but holds no decision-making power.
At the same time, an individual case is drawing national attention. Eight-month-old Emanuel (pictured above), born in Sweden, faces deportation to Iran despite the rest of his family having residence permits and employment in the country. His mother, who works in healthcare, obtained her permit through a now-abolished pathway allowing rejected asylum seekers to switch to work permits. Under updated rules, family members of people using that pathway can no longer automatically receive residence permits. Authorities say there is no legal basis to grant the child residency, though the family has appealed the decision.
The case unfolds as deportations to Iran remain temporarily paused due to the security situation, buying the family time but not certainty. Together, the resignation and the deportation case have sharpened political tensions, highlighting the balance Sweden is struggling to strike between stricter migration rules and humanitarian considerations.
Swede-ish Notes
Attribution: Aftonbladet
Cold Comfort
Europe has just experienced its coldest January since 2010. In Sweden, the chill appears in no hurry to leave. According to EU climate service Copernicus, large parts of the northern hemisphere were gripped by unusually low temperatures in late January, the result of polar air pushing south in a stubborn, large-scale circulation pattern. Meteorologists warn it may linger well into March.
Swedes, of course, know how to handle cold. We discuss it the way others discuss politics: analytically, with data. How many minus degrees? What’s the wind chill—kyleffekt—really making it feel like? There is almost comfort in the precision of it.
And yet, here’s the paradox: globally, this was still the fifth warmest January ever recorded. Average temperatures were roughly 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. While Örebro scrapes ice off windshields, the planet as a whole continues to warm.
This is the part that complicates the cozy narrative. A cold winter used to feel like reassurance—proof that seasons still behave. Now it is simply weather, nested inside a larger climate trend that moves in the opposite direction. One month, one region, even one frigid season does not cancel out the curve.
Sweden’s cold snap may persist. The atmospheric pattern, once established, tends to “bite down,” as meteorologists put it. That phrase feels apt. Weather bites. Climate shifts.
So we bundle up, complain a little, measure carefully—and try to hold two truths at once: it can be bitterly cold outside, and the world can still be getting warmer.
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