Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Monday​on August 4, 2025 at 6:36 am

Apartment prices fall in Sweden 

Residential property prices fell by 0.7 percent in Sweden in July, according to new statistics from the state-owned mortgage lender SBAB. 

Although residential prices normally dip in June, July and August, this month’s fall was “by quite a lot more than normal,” Robert Boije, SBAB’s chief economist, told the TT newswire. “The trend suggests that even if you take away the seasonal effect, we are seeing falling apartment prices, while for houses, prices are more or less flat.” 

Apartment prices were down 2.6 percent across Sweden compared to June, with the highest falls in Greater Gothenburg (4 percent) and Greater Stockholm (3.4 percent). Prices for houses rose 0.2 percent across Sweden. 

Swedish vocabulary: att sjunka – to sink/fall

Sweden’s prisons warn of dangerous overcrowding

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service has reported a surge in violence and threatening behaviour among inmates, with the prison warders union blaming overcrowding and predicting that the problem is set to worsen. 

Between January and June, there were 2,203 cases of threatening behaviour and violence both between inmates and directed at warders, an increase of about 60 percent compared to the same period five years ago. 

“Everyone working on these issues is worried,” said Joachim Danielsson, chair of the ST union’s club at the prison service, who said that a good working environment was essential for warders to be able to do their jobs. “It creates the pre-conditions to be able to handle difficult situations but also to change people.” 

Swedish vocabulary: förutsättningar – preconditions

Sweden Democrat leader slams government’s Israel attack as ‘a disaster’

The Sweden Democrats’ party leader, Jimmie Åkesson, has attacked the government’s request that the EU freeze its trade deal with Israel as a ‘disaster’. 

“If we had known that the government was going to be so weak and wishy washy in its Middle East politics we would have without doubt demanded foreign policy guarantees in the Tidö Agreement,” he wrote on X. 

The party’s foreign policy spokesperson, Aron Emilsson, told Expressen that the government’s demand had come “as a total bolt from the blue for us” and had damaged relationships with the government parties.

“It’s a problem, because we rejected a similar proposal from the opposition to freeze the trade agreement as recently as May,” he said. “Now the government is going the opposition’s way without any prior consultation with us or consideration of alternative ways forward. I think that’s very regrettable.” 

Swedish vocabulary: beklagligt – regrettable

Fredrik Reinfeldt marries again 

Sweden’s former PM Fredrik Reinfeldt has married his girlfriend, the property executive Anna Nordin, at Berns, the nightclub and restaurant in central Stockholm. 

“There was a lot of happiness and a lot of love,” his son, Gustav Reinfeldt, wrote on Instagram. “We ate well and listened to wonderful speeches. Da Buzz played and the whole wedding party danced and sang along.” 

Reinfeldt was Sweden’s prime minister between 2006 and 2014, and was until recently chair of the Swedish football association.

Swedish vocabulary: glädje – happiness