In our turbulent times, the King of Sweden is an asset

This week, King Carl XVI Gustaf celebrates 50 years on the throne, and it’s being noticed by many leading pages these days.

The king’s main assets are that he is “obligatory, very invulnerable and has no formal authority,” says Johan Rudström, lead author of Apsala Nia Titning. But Rudström sees monarchy as an outdated form of government that should be dissolved. He hopes future generations of the royal family will lead that development.

“The most unfair thing is that an individual is born in freedom, unable to decide his life.”

Matthias Brett of Jönköping-Boston feels grateful that Sweden has a regent like Carl XVI Gustaf instead. He sees her as “a modern representative of the Swedish brand and an institution that supports democracy”, providing continuity.

“In our chaotic contemporary times, this is an asset,” thinks Brett.

Smålands-Posten’s Fredrik Haage believes there is a “mountain of arguments” for the monarchy. He highlighted the king’s ability to “lift institutions in decline” when a storm raged around the Swedish Academy and the Nobel Foundation.

SvD’s lead writer Susanna Popova notes that neither party has raised the issue of abolishing the monarchy “perhaps because they listened to the people”.