(4 of 4)
The complaints have had political impact. The three nonsocialist opposition parties (Liberal, Center and Moderate) have pledged to halt the trend toward greater government centralization and slow the growth of the welfare state; the nonsocialist bloc has gained considerable strength. Since the 1973 election that left the Social Democrats with only 156 of Parliament's 350 seats, they have had to govern as a minority, relying on the support of 19 Communist votes and occasional deals with other opposition Deputies in order to enact key legislation. According to the latest polls, the Social Democrats' support is down to 40.5% of the voters (compared with the 43.6% the party won in 1973), while the nonsocialist bloc has climbed to 53.5% (up from 48.8% in 1973).
The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for this September; by then, the socialists—as they have often done before—may come from behind, thanks to a powerful machine that gets out the votes. A close outcome, however, would be a hard-to-ignore signal of continuing discontent with the Social Democratic blueprint for a Utopia.
At the Limits. Observes TIME's Bolte: "Nobody really knows where the limits of the welfare state are. Sweden, however, could be approaching them. Some businesses are already becoming noncompetitive with foreign manufacturers. The Swedish work ethic has suffered from high taxation and easy welfare. People refuse to work overtime, and the absenteeism rate—now at 10%—is one of the highest in the developed world. Some of the most creative people are opting for self-exile, not only because of bureaucratic harassment but also because conformity has made Sweden a very dull place. Although the welfare state seems to have worked so far, in the long run the regimentation of people's lives may kill the individual initiative and the private entrepreneurship needed for continued progress."
* Compared with other countries, Sweden ranks 17th in deaths from cirrhosis of the liver (9.3 per 100,000); the U.S. ranks ninth (15.5 per 100,000). Although the Swedish suicide rate (20.3 per 100,000) is the seventh highest in the world, the Swedes argue that most nations, for religious or legal reasons, underreport suicides.