Sweden seems very likely to elect a center-left government today. The existing centre-right coalition government of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt that came to power in 2006 introduced dramatic income and corporate tax cuts, trimmed welfare benefits, repealed employment protection laws, and went on a privatisation splurge. Sweden’s GDP grew 12.6%, disposable income rose, and budget surpluses followed.

However, the usual income inequality, private-sector ripoff and rising unemployment have occurred. So Sweden’s electorate has decided to dump the Right. You should not be surprised.

For a brief period many years ago, I had the Swedish Tor Line tourist carrier as a client. So I visited there a lot. The Swedes are living proof that every culture is a melange of left brain common sense and right brain misbehaviour:

1. Swedes indulge in the demon drink so much, the government had to introduce taxes meaning you need a bank loan to buy a bottle of vodka – and if you’re caught with any alcohol in your blood while driving, it is GO TO JAIL time. I have spent many North Sea crossings stepping over horizontal Swedes who mainlined cheap hooch once the ship had left Swedish territorial waters.

2. Sweden is largely composed of Elks, lakes, and pine forests. That’s as good a reason as any to spend your life a little fuzzy at the edges.

3. The concept of trespass in Swedish rural areas doesn’t exist. You can yomp naked swinging a machete around your head through a field of corn, and get nothing beyond applause. This idea appeals to me.

4. The Swedes do get the social weal. Wealth inequalities beyond a certain point give them an allergy. Hence the desire to kick out neolibs – however ‘successful’ they may be deemed to have been.

5. The Swedes sort of invented the sauna. Sadly, they also invented birch-twig thrashing afterwards plus a naked roll in the snow.

6. The Swedes also invented Langlauf – a form of flatland skiing where you get to admire the scenery, and the skis are light enough for you to avoid the 12 stations of the Cross involved in hawking heavy metal to the piste in schuss skiing. This idea also appeals to me.

6. Carl Larsson was Swedish – a painter of charming traditional scenes that stay just this side of lachrymose. But then, ABBA are Swedish too. As is stripped pine. (I like ABBA and stripped  pine in its place…just not everywhere. Also I hated the ABBA movie, which seemed to me based on the premise that celebs singing flat might be entertaining).

7. The best strapline our ad agency could come up with for Sweden as a destination was ‘For some holidaymakers, Sweden is the last resort’. It won us the business. Go figure.

8. The last time I went there, because of the draconian drink/drive laws, Gothenburg trafffic in the evening consisted entirely of taxis. We took the client to a restaurant called ‘Prawn’. It had an enormous indoor lake on which small boats with prawn order cargoes could be launched. You ordered your prawn variety, and then got to guide your radio-controlled shrimp-boat to the table. After 9 pm and copious consumption of aquavit, it was Battle of Trafalgar meets motorway pile-up. The client needed an ambulance by the end of the evening. I have never paid so much and eaten so little: my main course was ruthlessly rammed by pirates halfway through its voyage.

I’m delighted that the Swedes are turning their backs on neoliberal fiscal economics. He’s a rum sort of curate’s egg yer Swede, but he remains largely uninfected by Friedmanite/Levittesque economic drivel.