Deutsch
English
FrançaisSub menu: Home
Home / Index of Authors
Gudmundson, Per
Subscribe to receive the texts of "Gudmundson, Per" as RSS feeds
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
No tax money for persecutors of Jews and gays
On its homepage the Swedish imam association SIR describes death as a lawful punishment for homosexuals and accuses Jews of an international conspiracy to rule the financial system. This prompts the conservative daily Svenska Dagbladet to call for the association to return the almost 50,000 euros it received in funding in 2009 from the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs: "The National Board for Youth Affairs has established that the funding was not directly channelled into setting up the homepage. ... So for the board this means everything is fine, it seems. ... But it can't be satisfied with that. It must demand the return of the funding. It is unacceptable that tax money go to people who stir up hatred against homosexuals and Jews. The view according to which an association is welcome to persecute minorities at night as long as it keeps its hate under wraps during the day cannot be sanctioned. ... It's no excuse to say you're only funding the shining façade. In any other context such an excuse would be unacceptable."
» more information (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Migration, » Integration, » Gender equality, » Sweden
Sweden finances terror against Israel
The Palestinian Authority pays money every month to Palestinians doing time in Israeli prisons for terrorist crimes, among other offences. The conservative daily Svenska Dagbladet questions this use of Swedish development funds, writing that according to the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, "an average prisoner receives 3,129 shekels a month [roughly 600 euros], whereas an employee of the Authority earns 2882 shekels [550 euros]. Consequently it's more profitable to bomb a bus than to plan the public transport system. ... Sweden is one of the biggest donors to the Palestinians. ... On August 11 Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson announced that Sweden would transfer 40 million kronor [4.4 million euros] directly to the Palestinian Authority this year, 'to help the Palestinians to pay their salaries'. We taxpayers are thus answerable for the salaries of terrorists. This state of affairs is unacceptable. Sweden must have more say in how its development aid is used."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Sweden, » Middle East, » Israel
Ingmar Bergman remains true to himself
In accordance with the wishes of the late Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman, his house has been auctioned off to the highest bidder. The building has been purchased by the Norwegian Gude Gudeson, who plans to turn it into a meeting place for artists together with Bergman's daughter Linn Ullmann. The daily Svenska Dagbladet writes that the move is true to the spirit of Bergman, who steered well clear of the state's influence: "When the house was still up for sale ... many people said indignantly that the state must step in. Otherwise, they argued, Bergman's artistic legacy would be misappropriated. The debate was a reminder of how deeply lodged in our heads the idea is that an all-embracing state is a necessary condition for culture. But Bergman himself was an example of the contrary. His films were produced largely without the influence of film policy. On the contrary, he considered himself to have been driven into exile by the country's overzealous tax collectors. That Bergman's house on [the Baltic island] Fårö has now been turned into a private cultural institute seems like the logical consequence of a career that was successful more in spite of than with the aid of the state."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Sweden
Fewer visitors to Sweden's museums
Visitors to Swedish museums have had to pay an entry fee again since 2007. Per Gudmundson reports that the number of visitors to museums dropped drastically last year, but meanwhile a lively gallery scene has developed in the Vasastan section of Stockholm. "Anyone worried about the sinking number of visitors to, for example, the Modern Museum has overlooked the fact that at the same time there are many artistic activities in commercial areas. In Vasastan, those involved are spurring one another on to such an extent that one can hardly speak of endangered art."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » Cultural Policy, » Sweden
Time to take stock of Tony Blair's leadership
Per Gudmundson points out that Blair had a great impact on European political style: "It's hard to imagine what a modern European politician would look like, if there hadn't been a Blair. For example, Fredrik Reinfeldt and his 'New Moderates' would never have won the elections in Sweden without New Labour. Party dogmatism was deferred in favour of pragmatism, the ability to act, and moral backbone, without giving up ideological grounding. This method was often described, slightly deceptively, as a path towards the centre. But it's really about something else entirely: it's about representing a middle class in a believable manner, a middle class that, being relatively new, does not fit into the old templates."
» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » United Kingdom, » Sweden, » Europe
© 2005-2012