As a European, it pains me to say this, but I seriously doubt Europe will take any meaningful part in the AI boom.

We love to reminisce about our glory days — Ericsson and Nokia leading the mobile revolution in the 1990s. But those days are long gone. Today, Europe’s biggest “innovation” seems to be a plastic screw cap that still can’t be unscrewed properly.

The uncomfortable truth is this: living on old credentials no longer works. The hunger, the risk-taking spirit, and the forward momentum we once had appear to have disappeared.

If we can’t even solve basic everyday problems without massive bureaucracy and outdated thinking, how are we supposed to compete in the AI era?

The gap with America isn’t just technological. It’s cultural, structural, and growing wider by the day. Even optimistic analysts who believe Europe can catch up on the “next AI wave” seem to be grasping at straws.

This is a new post on the new dewlar.me blog.
You can find the old blog here:https://mrsdewlar.blogspot.com

According to the latest Ekonomifakta/SCB statistics (Feb 2026):

• The top 1% pay ~10–15% of Sweden’s total taxes.
• The top 5% pay 26.1%.
• The bottom 40% pay only 13%.

The Swedish Left wants to raise taxes on “the rich”. There’s just one problem: those in the top 5% are also the ones most likely to leave the country.

Lose even a portion of them, and you blow a multi-billion-kronor hole in the budget.

Suddenly “tax the rich” turns into “tax the rest of us”.

Because let’s be honest — nobody actually wants to pay higher taxes themselves. It’s always “someone else”.

Not even Vänsterpartiet, whose leadership recently tried to lower their own internal party tax.

This is a new post on the new dewlar.me blog.
You can find the old blog here:https://mrsdewlar.blogspot.com

Yesterday, the government announced that they are replacing the chairmen of AP2, AP3 and AP7. This comes after SVT’s revelations about the major losses in Northvolt.

The background is well known: AP1–AP4 circumvented the law prohibiting direct investments in unlisted companies by creating the jointly owned company 4 to 1 Investments. Through this construction, they invested SEK 5.8 billion of Swedish pension savers’ money in Northvolt.

Per Bolund (Green Party), who was Minister for Financial Markets until early 2021, played a central role. He pushed through regulatory changes that enabled the investment and put strong pressure on the AP funds to lead the “green transition”. In the KU hearing in May 2026, Bolund denied exerting direct pressure on the funds regarding Northvolt specifically and placed the full responsibility on the AP funds themselves.

I’m glad the current government is cleaning house by replacing weak chairmen.

What disappoints me is that the architect behind this scheme — Per Bolund — walks away completely unscathed.

The Green Party, which claims to be the party of the environment, has contributed to shutting down six nuclear reactors and now helped lose billions of pension capital on a high-risk green investment.

And Swedish mainstream media continues to let them get away with it.

This is a new post on the new dewlar.me blog.
You can find the old blog here:https://mrsdewlar.blogspot.com

The Green Party has held power in Stockholm since 2014, often acting as kingmakers between the political blocs. The result? Cyclists have been elevated to a privileged class in the city.

They are allowed to ride against one-way traffic. Their paths are meticulously cleared and salted all winter, while pedestrians slip and slide on ice just centimeters away. In places like Djurgården and along Årstaviken, they share space with pedestrians and expect everyone else to vanish the moment they ring their bell.

Despite all these privileges, many are still not satisfied. Every single day, cyclists ride on sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to step aside.

This morning at 06:35, yet another cyclist came speeding down the sidewalk. Everyone moved, me included.

But in my mind, I was acting like a total Karen…

This is a new post on the new dewlar.me blog.
You can find the old blog here:https://mrsdewlar.blogspot.com

It’s been just over a week since our son completed his final IB exam. Now begins the long wait: first for the results to see if he passed the IB Diploma, then for news on his university applications.

June and the first half of July will basically be one long exercise in patience.

Next week is graduation, so this weekend he was allowed to borrow my parents’ summer house in the archipelago for a party with his friends. They took the ferry out yesterday to plan sleeping arrangements.

On the way back they stopped at a shopping mall for McDonald’s. That’s when our son forgot to put the parking disc in the window and got his first parking ticket — 600 SEK.

Since he got his driver’s license in October, this was his first one. I told him I would pay the first ticket, but from the second onward, it’s on him.

He was visibly relieved.

On the bright side, we have an electric car that charges at home, so at least he doesn’t have to worry about fuel.

I never had to fill up my parents’ car when I was young either… and somehow I still managed to learn financial responsibility.

This is a new post on the new dewlar.me blog.
You can find the old blog here:https://mrsdewlar.blogspot.com