Fika, group therapy, and other key Swedish concepts

On the 9th of September, when I had been here 5 weeks, there was a General Election in Sweden.  That was almost two months ago and there is still no new Prime Minister and no new government.  The official government website:

https://www.regeringen.se/sveriges-regering/

Informs that the Swedish government consists of 22 Ministers and one Prime Minister.  There is a nice photograph of the pre-election government with the Prime Minister Stefan Löfen and all other the government ministers.  But Stefan Löfen is no longer the PM.  Talmannen (the speaker) Andreas Norlén has been inviting the leaders of the various political parties (there are 8 of them!) to fika (a very important Swedish activity meaning to sit down together and chat over tea or coffee and cakes) with him in an effort to persuade one of them to form a government, if they can.  So far, none has proven willing and able to do so.

In the absence of a PM, it seems to me that Talmannen and the King, Carl XVI Gustav, may be in charge of the country.  At least they are the ones who will welcome the PM of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, on the occasion of his official state visit to Sweden November 13-15.  The Italian PM will visit the newly reopened National Museum in Stockholm and the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund.  The latter is: "a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), a multi-disciplinary research facility based on the world’s most powerful neutron source. Our vision is to build and operate the world’s most powerful neutron source, enabling scientific breakthroughs in research related to materials, energy, health and the environment, and addressing some of the most important societal challenges of our time."  This mission statement on the website either exaggerates the importance of the ESS, or it is something we should all know more about.

In the meantime, life goes on in Sweden, even without a Government.  People go to work and are paid.  Banks are open and operational, not that there is any cash in them.  Did you know that you can't get money from Swedish banks?

I tried when I first arrived here.  I had money in my account, but could not access it.  I needed a bank debit card, which was mailed to my old address in California.  I told them I had moved to Sweden, but they could not update my address until I was officially in "the system."  Being officially in "the system" in Sweden is a function of Skatteverket and like all beaurocracies they take their time getting things done.  In the meantime the bank sent out three debit cards, one after the other, to my old address in California.  Each time I told them that I didn't live there anymore they canceled the most recent card and promised not to send any more, but they broke their promise each time.  Eventually Skatteverket confirmed that I did indeed live in Sweden.  I then received a brand new debit card at my Swedish address and could spend my money!

This process took over a month.

Based on my bank experience I think it could take quite a while to sort this post-election kerfuffle out.  I'm getting a little bit concerned about how long it's taking to get a new PM and government here.  Having given up on fika as the answer Talmannen's latest ploy is a kind of group-therapy process recommended by psychologist Oskar Henrikson:

https://www.svd.se/psykolog-sa-kan-samtalen-leda-till-en-ny-regering

Speaking of this very important concept (not group-therapy), I received an invitation to fika from my neighbors today.  While taking a break from my leaf-raking and cleaning activities ahead of the arrival next week of my brother Martin from England, I heard the thump, thump, thump of footsteps running on my deck.  I looked out in time to see the hastily retreating figure of Joel, my six-year old neighbor.  He arrived at my front door having run down the stairs from the deck and around the house in the same time it took me to get up off the sofa and open the front door.

"Du är bjuden på fika," he said ("you are invited to fika").

Joel lives with his mother Rocio, who hails from Madrid, and his father Marcus, who grew up in Mogata.  Their cottage is older than mine but has been completely modernized with a new farstu, a word derived from förstuga, meaning a kind of mini stuga, or cottage, in front of the main stuga or cottage! A farstu is something extremely useful on a Swedish house.  I suppose the English equivalent would be a cross between a porch and a mud room.  Somewhere to leave your boots, coats, scarves, gloves, hats, dog leads, bags, etc, so that when you step into the house itself, it can be orderly and clean.

We sat in the spacious kitchen, where a candle glowed on the table, a fire was visible in the adjoining sitting room, and drank coffee and ate chocolate cake with coconut on the icing and chatted about the week that has passed.  Joel's cousins Isabel and Natalie soon arrived for a sleepover.  Their parents were going to a 50th birthday party this evening.  I met their father Mattias, brother to Marcus for the first time.  He left and we resumed our fika.  Rocio spontaneously shared that she finds it hard to make friends.  This delighted me! Not that I don't want her to make friends, but I am facing the same challenge, and told her so.  We have decided to get together in Norrköping occasionally, what fun!  Voila! what great things can come of fika, I guess there is hope for the new Swedish government after all.