Europe at Present [Spring 2003]

Co-habitant, spouse or partner

Gay and lesbian

Sweden is one of the world’s most progressive countries when it comes to Gay Rights. Since 1988, government legislation has granted gay relationships the same status as heterosexual marriages and the state has given financial support to gay organizations.

Following the introduction of “registered partnership” legislation in Denmark in 1989, the statistics showing the popularity of gay marriage are soaring. According to the government 2,083 lesbian and gay couples (nearly twice as many male as female) had taken advantage of the law which gives them all the rights of heterosexual marriage except the right to adopt children and to have artificial insemination and a church wedding.

Legal system

When thinking of the Swiss legal system, you have heard of their oddity: the bank secrecy. But few have heard about Nordic: the “offentlighetsprincipen”, the principle of publicly. It’s juridical oddity, and it is very peculiar. The US equivalence is the Freedom of Information Act, but it's better not to use that parallel, because all US citizens will only get the wrong impression.

The offentlighetsprincipen is divided in two parts: the right for whoever it may be, to be present as listener at court and other public proceedings. The rule is at least from the 15th century, and is of course no oddity at all. Most legal systems state the same. But the other part is: the right, whomever it may be, to anonymously and without giving any reason, immediately and on the spot read public papers in courts and agencies of the municipalities and the state, and to get copies, and publish them, irrespective of the wishes of the original author. The offentlighetsprincipen is part of the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden. It has been since 1766; thus the offentlighetsprincipen for public papers is 22 years older than the US constitution. There are of course also elaborate rules, a thick law, when public papers must be classified. But the basic principles from 1766 have never been changed. And when the computers came, data information became as public as information on paper.

The offenlighetsprincipen is truly revered. When Sweden applied for membership in the European Union, the government said Sweden was prepared to negotiate about exactly everything. Except for the offentlighetsprincipen. If the Union didn’t accept that as a precondition, Sweden wouldn’t apply for a membership.

And why is the offentlighetsprincipen revered by even the poorest citizens? Because in other countries the journalists are depending on leaks, but when a whole group of politicians, judges or bureaucrats all are corrupt, there aren’t any. But in Sweden all journalists, it’s a part of their professional pride, dig up the facts nevertheless. Their mud digging achievements the last twenty years are impressive: one Prime Minister elect, three Ministers of Justice, half a dozen Regional Governors, half a dozen of the highest Police Commanding Officers, at least one parliamentary member a year, and several dozens of local municipal mayors and managers. All sacked. In most cases they hadn’t been more corrupt than e.g. using their official tax paid VISA cards for small private expenses, but that didn’t calm the public outrage, and they got sacked nevertheless. With such effectiveness, the offentlighetsprincipen is of course hated among politicians and bureaucrats, but they can’t even show the slightest hint of that opinion, because in that case, they won’t be reelected. It would be a political suicide.

Janteloven

The word "Janteloven” occasionally pops up, often with no hint given as to what it is supposed to mean since apparently it’s common knowledge in most Nordic countries. It derives from the novel "En flygtning krysser sitt spor" (“A refugee crosses his tracks”) by the Norwegian/Danish author Aksel Sandemose. The book takes place in an imaginary Danish small town called Jante. The book is about the ugly sides of Scandinavian small-town mentality, and the term "Janteloven" meaning “the Jante Law” means the unspoken rules and jealousy of such communities in general. This law tells you, among others: “do not think you are anything special” and “do not think you are better than anybody else”.

The “Everyman’s Right” (i.e. the right to walk freely in the nature) is sometimes said to be a Scandinavian specialty. That might be wrong or correct – in any case it’s an important part of life taken for granted by the people in Norway, Sweden and Finland. It’s maybe also an explanation why the environment protection has become such an important issue in contemporary Scandinavian politics, despite these countries not at all being more polluted than for instance Germany or Poland. The “Everyman’s Rights” give a lot of freedom – and at the same time the responsibility for protecting the land and environment also when it is someone else's property. The main rule is that one can walk, ski or cycle everywhere as long as nothing is harmed and nobody disturbed. Then, there are refinements and exceptions to this, of course.

How close to houses can one dare to come? No definite rule exists, but in Sweden it’s often said that the privacy area around a dwelling is to be understood as at least 200 meters (in Norway 150 meters). This does of course depend on the landscape and other conditions. An alternative wording of the rule is that if you hear or see other people, then you are too close to them.

The historic background was the great uninhabited forests around the Nordic villages. These weren’t anyone's property, but were seen as a common good to which not only the inhabitants in the nearest village had access, but instead also travelers, who had the right to collect what one need for survival and tour through the sparsely populated country. The tradition dates back to Viking time, or longer, including the right to take grass for horses and timber for reparations of carriages, as regulated in medieval laws.

The rules are not exactly identical in Norway, Sweden and Finland, but in practice the following should apply to all three countries: In Denmark most of the land is in use and owned by somebody, either a private person or the state (in earlier times this was the king). With regard to the state owned land, everyone is allowed to walk there, collect berries, mushrooms or whatever. But you are not allowed to make camps, light fires, take firewood and so on.

Other Issues

The ideal that each and everybody have the same value is manifested in the Swedish forms of address. Just as in Anglo-Saxon countries, Swedes use only one form when speaking to a single person: du (“you”). Irrespective of the sex, age or social class of an addressee, du can always be used. Formerly there was a more polite form, Ni (corresponding to German Sie) which was to be used, for instance, between strangers and by children who were addressing adults. Today it is only rarely used and most of all by elderly people. Note, however, that it is still the form employed when talking to more than one person.

Another characteristic of Swedish mentality is the urge to agree on things. Heated discussions are rare, and the best way to convince somebody in a matter is not to put maximum emotional energy into the discussion, but to give some good arguments. For this reason, foreigners sometimes think Swedish people undercooled and formal. They probably have a point there, but it should be remembered that the tendency towards rationality and objectivity most of all is seen in public and professional life. Swedish people can be very emotional, too, especially after 2 a.m. in a bar.

Conclusions

A key challenge in the field of domestic policy is reconciling the demands of the Norwegian welfare state and egalitarian social model on the one hand with those of the offshore economy and globalization on the other. Norway’s egalitarian model for cradle-to-grave social security is coming under ever-greater pressure to adapt to the process of globalization, which is forcing the nation to enhance the efficiency of its economy.

When it comes to the Swedish society, it is also built on a foundation of egalitarianism and social awareness and has managed to become one of the most successful capitalist economies of this century. Low power-distance, teamwork, concern for the common well-being and a strong international orientation have helped Swedish managers create leading multinational firms while the left-wing governments were establishing an advanced welfare state that still allowed liberal economics to prevail. Denmark also is well-developed welfare society, which provides high-quality childcare; training and education; elderly care as well as health care. But people’s needs will continue to change, and the demand for quality welfare services is not about to decrease – on the contrary. To secure welfare society, Danes must create a basis for allowing families and businesses to enjoy decent public services in an affluent society – also five or ten years ahead. A proper physical framework that allows the country to meet the demands of the future shall be established. Moreover, there is a need for making the public sector as efficient as possible, providing people with the best possible services. The public sector will have to invest in areas that can strengthen Denmark's position and boost the economy to the benefit of society in general. Public investment in such areas could include projects to better prepare people and businesses for the challenges of the future.

IV. THE SCANDINAVIAN NATIONS AND…

…Religion

The Germanic pagan religion has left its mark on customs and festivals; celebrations with bonfires and maypoles mark the Finnish and Swedish midsummer, and the Nordic Christmas bears many similarities to the midwinter feast of the Vikings. Trolls and gnomes still inhabit Nordic households, although the once revered and feared mythical beings have been reduced to the lowly caste of soft toys.

The Nordic peoples were converted to Catholicism in the 10th to 12th centuries, but the Lutheran reformation embraced in all Nordic countries wiped out most of the Catholic customs and memories in the course of the 16th century. Having become a stronghold of Protestantism against Catholics in the south and Greek Orthodox in the east had some unifying effect on Scandinavia even though wars between the countries kept raging on; religion was, after all, the most important basis of one’s identity well into the 18th century. The Lutheran ideal was to require the common people to be able to read the Bible on their own, which had an enormous educating effect on the Nordic peoples. This, along with the protestant work ethic, had a significant role in the forming of the Scandinavian societies, enabling their economic and cultural growth and the pioneering work that the Nordics have played in decreasing social inequality.

Even today, all five Nordic countries have a Lutheran state church to which a vast majority of the population belongs (there is of course full freedom of religion granted by the constitutions of the five countries). Paradoxically, this is probably the reason why Scandinavians are among the most secular peoples on the face of the earth. Despite its seemingly all-pervasive presence in various state institutions and the ceremonies guiding the life of the average Scandinavian, Lutheranism has in most parts of Scandinavia retreated to the fringes of culture and has little meaning to the average person. Church attendance is record-low, the liberal morals hardly reflect specifically Lutheran ideals, religion is no major issue in politics, etc. The official, institutionalized religion offered by the state churches has to a large extent vaccinated the Nordics against Christian fundamentalism of the American kind.

…Language

Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese are all North-Germanic languages developed from the Old Norse spoken in Viking age Scandinavia. A Swede, a Dane and a Norwegian can understand each other with varying degrees of difficulties, but none of them will fully understand Icelandic or Faroese without studying the languages. Finnish is an entirely different case, it’s a Finno-Ugric language related to Estonian and Hungarian. There is, however, a Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, which ties it linguistically to Scandinavia. Also, Finnish is related to the Sámi languages spoken in Norway, Sweden and Finland by the Sámi or Lapps, the aborigines of northern Scandinavia.

The languages sound more like three (very) different dialects of the same language than three separate languages. The language situation has made communication between the countries much easier, and has laid the foundation for a close cooperation between the countries.

The late Einar Haugen, one of the leading authorities on the Scandinavian languages, once characterized Norwegian as “Danish spoken with a Swedish accent”. The essential difference between the three Scandinavian languages is that Danish and Norwegian have a long history of shared culture and vocabulary which Swedish lacks, while Norwegian and Swedish have many shared features of pronunciation, which Danish lacks. Actually, the truth is somewhat more complex, since Norwegian and Danish have radically simplified their pronunciation and grammar in a way that Swedish has not, but the pronunciation of Danish has subsequently been influenced by that of German, while Swedish and Norwegian have not.

English is a mandatory subject and is taught in school from 3rd or 4th grade up to completion of high school. Much of the communication with other countries is in English and most people born in the 1940s and later can communicate well in English.

…Culture

Scandinavian culture today could be described as a potpourri of “original Viking culture”, medieval German influence, French influence in the centuries that followed, and several other smaller sources, not forgetting local development and national romantic inventiveness, of course.

The Nordics are rather heavy drinkers, the “vodkabelt” goes right through Finland, Sweden and Norway; the Danes are more of a beer-drinking nation, but don’t say no to a glass of akvavit either. Smörgĺsbord with pickled herrings and open-faced sandwiches is no rare sight. Women are emancipated. Towns are clean and well-functioning enough to make a Swiss clocksmith feel at home. And so forth; myths and stereotypes about Scandinavia are many. Some of them are, of course, less true than others, but their very existence illustrates the fact that we do have quite a lot in common.

…Alcohol

There are a few facts which often tend to be forgotten when discussing the alcohol habits of North-Europeans.

The maybe most important explanation for the Nordic behavior is the very long tradition of mead and beer drinking. At least since the Stone Age Germanians have left traces of brewing intoxicating beverages from grain. Wine was grown by Germans first at the time of Charlemagne, when the Nordics since long had established our own cultural identity, and still today it’s almost impossible to grow wine in Scandinavia. Mead can however not be stored. Mead has to be prepared for each time there is a need for it, as at festivals, and then all of the mead has to be consumed or it will be wasted. The Nordic all-or-nothing attitude to alcohol has a plausible explanation in our historic and geographic conditions.

Secondly beer and mead are made from grain, which otherwise would be used as food. Richness and power made it possible to afford brewing; poverty, failure of the crops and starving meant “no booze or you’ll die!” To be able to serve ones guests a plenty of alcohol is a deeply rooted signal of richness, authority and good times worthy lords and magnates. The holiday behavior of Finns staggering off and on their ferries in Tallin, Sundsvall and Stockholm, and the Swedes reeling off and on the ferries in Helsingřr, Fredrikshavn and Copenhagen, is nothing but the traditional way of celebration for a people not used to wine. Parallels are seen in the traditions on Ireland and in Scotland.

…European Enlargement

Norway, Iceland, Greenland and the Faeroes are not members of the EU. Denmark joined in 1972, but Sweden and Finland didn’t join until in 1992. Today Finland is regarded as the most pro-EU country in Scandinavia – and the Finns have been the only to adopt the new European currency, the euro.