Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 16:41:00 +0100
From: m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se (Hugh Rodwell)
Subject: M-G: Re: M-I: Cockroach Flash! Hundreds close down parliment!


Bob's news from the "north" of Sweden -- in fact nearer it's geographical
pivot, but nobody ever stops to think just how big and empty the real,
Arctic north of Sweden is -- is dramatic.

It reflects growing grassroots anger and a willingness among people to take
matters into their own hands, even if this still expresses itself as
pressure on the corrupt pollies already in place rather than effective
independent revolutionary organization, as Bob pointed out. That will come.

However, the terminology Bob used might be a bit misleading.

Sweden is divided into a number of regions (24) called counties (with
political bodies responsible for the health service and in Stockholm's case
for local transport), and each of these is subdivided into municipalities
or local authorities, of which there are 288 in all. These look after other
questions that aren't purely the concern of central government. These local
authorities have taxation rights and a good deal of local autonomy, both of
which are becoming farcical at present given the grip of central government
on all the important money sources and its ability to decree national
guidelines for local government activities.

Umeaa Commune is one of these local authorities with 100,000 inhabitants
(medium-big in Swedish terms). Its main town, Umeaa, is an important
university town and administrative centre on the northern Baltic with
70,000 inhabitants. The parliament Bob refers to is the municipal council.

Although it isn't industrial, Umeaa is one of the three or four most
important towns in Sweden north of Stockholm, so what happens there is
significant.

Cheers,

Hugh







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