Swedish sweeteners
From Blair Gibbs Sir: Someone should correct the misguided assumption of all Lefties that just across the North Sea lies a safe and contented socialist utopia (`Gordon's Swedish model', 4 December). A recent trip to Sweden gave me a more accurate impression of the puritanical cultural atmosphere. A week with friends on an isolated island, hiking and fishing (which is still legal), was contrasted with a visit to the nearest town.
Linkoping was impossibly neat, tidy and regimented, hut at the same time totally devoid of fun. There were no bars to be seen and only a handful of non-smoking restaurants. A prohibitively expensive beer was eventually tracked down, but the by then frantic search had made us all feel like alcoholic criminals. What was most bizarre was the widespread social attachment to sweets and confectionery. Grown adults were queuing in docile desperation to indulge their infantile taste for sugary delights — obviously the only vice of which the government allowed people to partake. The lesson is clear: nanny states like the one in Sweden don't just cost a fortune, they also corrupt the character of a people. When a government treats people like children, they eventually end up behaving that way.
Blair Gibbs
London N2
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