Politics Expressions
Swedish political idiom — kohandel, het potatis, skottgluggen and the language of blockpolitik.
Twenty phrases for reading Swedish political news: makten and rodret, kohandel behind stängda dörrar, misstroendeförklaringar — ending on the oldest warning of all.
- 1
att ta ställning
to take a stand
Tip: literally 'to take position'; the standard phrase for committing to a side
- 2
att sitta vid makten
to be in power
Tip: Swedish sits at power where English is in it
- 3
att sitta vid rodret
to be at the helm
Tip: literally 'to sit at the rudder' — a nautical image, as in English
- 4
att bli bortröstad
to be voted out
Tip: 'bort' = away; the prefix does the work
- 5
ett vallöfte
an election promise
Tip: 'löfte' = promise; 'bryta ett vallöfte' is the phrase that follows
- 6
en het potatis
a political hot potato
Tip: the same image as English, for an issue nobody wants to hold
- 7
att göra en helomvändning
to do a U-turn
Tip: literally 'a complete turnaround'
- 8
kohandel
political horse-trading
Tip: literally 'cow trade' — the classic Swedish term for backroom deal-making between parties
- 9
att hamna i skottgluggen
to be in the firing line
Tip: literally 'to end up in the embrasure' — the gap you get shot through
- 10
att stå till svars för något
to answer for something
Tip: literally 'to stand to answer for'
- 11
en misstroendeförklaring
a vote of no confidence
Tip: the Riksdag's mechanism for forcing a minister out
- 12
att avgå
to resign
Tip: 'avgång' is the resignation; also used for a train's departure
- 13
en regeringsombildning
a cabinet reshuffle
Tip: 'ombildning' = re-forming
- 14
blockpolitik
bloc politics
Tip: Swedish politics is long organised into a left and a right bloc; the boundary itself is 'blockgränsen'
- 15
att följa partilinjen
to toe the party line
Tip: 'partipiska' (the party whip) is what enforces it
- 16
bakom stängda dörrar
behind closed doors
Tip: identical image to English
- 17
att läcka uppgifter
to leak information
Tip: 'uppgifter' = details or data; 'en läcka' is the leak itself
- 18
att sitta på två stolar
to have it both ways
Tip: literally 'to sit on two chairs'
- 19
oppositionen
the opposition
Tip: the parties outside government but inside parliament
- 20
att få egen majoritet
to win an outright majority
Tip: literally 'own majority' — rare in Sweden's multi-party system
- 21
makt korrumperar
power corrupts
Tip: the standard rendering of the proverb