Vobb

After the incredible spring sunshine yesterday, Friday brought rain and ice on my super early morning run. Once at home, Eddie asked for Strepsils and complained about a sore throat which made it clear that I would have two, rather than one, kid to juggle while teaching 2x2 hours on Zoom. With Anna away all day in Trollhättan, I did not really know how I would survive this paradigmatic example of “vobb” but, somehow, I did and now Anna is back home, and we are all having Indian takeout from the “South Indian Bistro” on Lilla Kungsgatan.

Meanwhile, Sweden is one step closer to NATO membership as Turkey finally completed its ratification process. Necessary as this may be in the short term, I am really concerned about the lack of a long-term vision for our relationship with Russia, at least beyond mere confrontation. Having cut almost all normal economic and cultural ties, we have also inadvertently cut ourselves off from being able to influence Russian society in a positive direction. After living next to North Korea for three years, I was always sceptical of sanctions, believing that, instead of isolation, we should seek to win the hearts and minds of the Russian elite.