Sweden wants us to drive its buses and care for its elderly — but not dare enter parliament
The woman helping your mother out of bed may have ideas about how her care home should be run. The man driving your bus may want a say in the decisions that shape his children’s future. Neither should have to apologise for wanting more influence over the country they call home.
Sweden depends on their work. More than half its employed bus and tram drivers were foreign-born in 2024, according to SCB. Foreign-born workers make up 45% of assistant nurses and care assistants in elderly care, Socialstyrelsen reports.
But what happens when someone wants to help write the rules they work under?
Mohamed Abdukardir Ali won a parliamentary seat through preference votes. The allegations surrounding the election in Borlänge deserve investigation. He denies wrongdoing, and on 23 September, SVT reported that he was not himself suspected of a crime. He is innocent until proven guilty.
Some of the debate has gone beyond possible wrongdoing. SVT described the surprise that someone so little known could win a seat. Parties have a duty to check their candidates. But a man can be unknown to commentators and still mean something to the people who voted for him.
That distinction matters. In Borlänge, councillor Nasteho Mohamed fears that voters may now hesitate to support a Somali candidate. Other people’s political futures should not depend on the outcome of one investigation.
No one owes Ali a parliamentary career. He owes voters answers, as any politician does. But all Somali Swedes deserve to know that standing for election will bring scrutiny of their conduct, without putting their community on trial.
People should not have to spend their lives proving that they are useful before they are accepted as equals. They can care deeply about Sweden and disagree with those who govern it.
The people who drive the buses and care for the elderly have lives beyond their shifts. Decisions made in parliament follow them home. They have every right to seek a seat there.
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