Voices from Norra Scen: Now joint responsibility is required
The transition in Norrbotten is noticeable in the activity around the county. Industry is investing, municipalities are building and new opportunities are emerging. But is the state on board? Development is determined by the pace – and by how well responsibility and conditions meet reality. This became clear when Norra Scen gathered votes during Almedalen Week.
Norra Scen is our arena for conversations about issues that are a concern for all of Sweden, but are brought to the forefront in Norrbotten. It is a collaboration between Region Norrbotten, LKAB and Luleå University of Technology. This year's program brought together politics, business, academia and culture around the issues that shape our common future.
During the five years that Norra Scen has been held at Fiskargränd 5, the beautiful garden that houses the stage has established itself as a popular meeting place during Almedalen Week. Over three days, with twelve seminars, the garden is visited by up to a thousand people and around a hundred speakers.
A new Europe requires a new pace
Several discussions focused on Europe's competitiveness in an uncertain world. MEP Sofie Eriksson (S) pointed to the need for a clear shift in the view of industry and self-sufficiency.
– Europe and Sweden must increase their independence, it is absolutely necessary. We see the consequences of having outsourced production and not investing in our own industry. Production is power, and the question is not whether jobs are created – but where.
MEP Sofie Eriksson (S) and MP and Chair of the EU Committee, Erik Ottoson (M), debated Europe's path to stronger competitiveness.
Editorial writer Susanna Kirkegaard, Aftonbladet, described how perspectives have changed.
– We have been naive about how trade, security and geopolitics are interconnected. Today it is becoming clear that economic policy is also security policy – where dependencies, technology and resources must be understood in the same whole.
Carl-Vincent Reimers from the Timbro think tank underlined the importance of a common European direction.
– There are strategic areas where Europe must build its own capacity, but this requires a joint analysis. Otherwise, we risk weakening our competitiveness.
Carl-Vincent Reimers emphasized the importance of increasing the EU's independence without it turning into protectionism.
Member of Parliament Erik Ottoson (M), chairman of the EU Committee, highlighted the importance of being able to act quickly in a changing situation.
– In the new world order, it is not about eliminating all risks, but about spreading them and being able to adjust quickly. Europe's strength lies in our competitiveness and our ability to be agile.
Municipalities on the front line
Global developments have direct consequences locally. When investments land in Norrbotten, demands for housing, skills and public services grow rapidly.
Johannes Sundelin (S), chairman of the regional development committee in the Norrbotten Region, described a clear imbalance.
– Individual municipalities are forced to take on far too much responsibility today. The municipal level carries risks that are actually national.
Johannes Sundelin, Annica Sandström and Jonas Lundström, who until recently were industry coordinators at the Acceleration Office, met in a panel discussion about the conditions for municipalities.
Annica Sandström, professor of political science at Luleå University of Technology, put the development in a larger context:
– Municipalities have gone from being providers of welfare to becoming network actors in complex processes. It is not enough to ask what the municipality can do – we must ask what the entire governance system can do together.
The picture became concrete from the municipalities themselves. Boden's municipal councilor Béatrice Öman (S) described a daily life where everything happens at the same time:
– The problem is not that we have many challenges – but that we have them all at the same time. We must build housing, secure skills and develop society in parallel.
Luleå municipal councillor Carina Sammeli (S) described the situation from her perspective.
– We directed our resources to planning traffic, expanding the port and thinking about a new district heating system and where people should live. I don't see the same unity from the state. What I miss is the will from Sweden, "now we're going to make this work."
Carina Sammeli came to Norra Scen for the introductory seminar, Basic industry in northern Sweden delivers – if politics acts.
The industry is ready – but the pace is decisive
The message from the industry was clear: investments are happening now. At the same time, the pace is determined by the surrounding conditions.
LKAB's Niklas Johansson put the issue in a global perspective:
– If China builds in a third of the time, we will not be competitive.
From Stegra, CEO Niklas Wass emphasized the importance of stable and long-term regulations:
– One of the conditions is that the EU stays the course, that the legislation can be trusted. That is a cornerstone of this.
Niklas Johansson, LKAB, and Tomas Hirsch, SSAB both participated in the conversation that the Industrial Employers Association arranged at Norra Scen.
Isak From (S) emphasized the importance of a long-term perspective:
– What has been decided must remain in place for the long term. We cannot change the rules of the game during the journey.
Infrastructure as an enabler
Infrastructure issues recurred several times. The Director General of the Swedish Transport Administration, Roberto Maiorana, pointed to a central obstacle in today's system:
– We should not be satisfied that it takes so long. Should we accept that it takes 12 months to develop a detailed plan or a railway plan? No.
Ulrika Heie (C), chairwoman of the Riksdag's traffic committee, highlighted the complexity but also the responsibility going forward:
– I would like it to go much faster, but these are very complicated processes. Then you will see what tools you have to shorten them and what you need to change.
Roberto Maoirana, Director General of the Swedish Transport Administration, next to Ulrika Heie (C), Member of Parliament and Chair of the Transport Committee.
From the Norrbotten Region, the chairman of the regional board, Anders Öberg (S), called for a shift from problem insight to action.
– The question is how we do it as quickly as possible. The effects of moving from road to rail are significant.
LKAB's CEO Johan Menckel is worried about the Ore Railway.
– We want to grow, there are other players who are growing. The ore railway is a very important issue for us, because it takes time to expand capacity there.
Competence on equal terms
Skills supply was a recurring theme. Britta Flinkfeldt from Akademi Norr described a structural challenge:
– Half of Sweden's adult population lacks equal access to the education system.
Britta Flinkfeldt from Akademi Norr, who arranged the seminar.
Janus Brandin, Regional Development Director, Norrbotten Region, concretized what the labor shortage in the county looks like:
– We need to cover 8,500 jobs in two years in a population of 250,000 inhabitants.
Norrbotten – more than just raw materials
A cultural policy seminar asked the rhetorical question Norrbotten – Sweden's Klondike? It started with a conversation about the concept of soft power and was about the role of culture in creating attractive societies. Maria Lind, director of Kin Museum of Contemporary Art in Kiruna, described Norrbotten as a place where the big questions of our time meet:
– In Norrbotten, very concrete issues about raw material extraction, land use, indigenous rights, geopolitics and climate change are taking place. And it is in such contexts that the most interesting art arises.
Maria Lind, director of Kin Museum, explained why Norrbotten is such an interesting place for art and culture.
Mika Romanus, director of the Swedish Arts Council, raised the funding issue:
– There is an awareness of the importance of culture, but it is not met with the investments that would be needed. Without strong funding, we risk becoming dependent on other actors with their own interests.
Preparedness and implementation
Issues of preparedness also received considerable attention. County Governor Lotta Finstorp emphasized the need to make difficult decisions regarding food preparedness in a timely manner.
– On the day the situation becomes critical, priorities must be in place – and that is extremely sensitive.
Lotta Finstorp, County Governor, Norrbotten County Administrative Board, highlighted the importance of addressing difficult issues in a timely manner.
Kajsa Myrberg, Director of the Association of Norrbotten Municipalities, highlighted the importance of daring to challenge boundaries.
– The emergency preparedness area is a special area. If we can get relief that makes it easier to be innovative in that area, then that is part of the solution.
The role of the state in a new situation
Daniel Suhonen, head of the trade union-owned think tank Katalys, and Per Schlingmann, lecturer and former chief strategist for the Moderate Party, met in a lively conversation. Despite belonging to different parts of the political spectrum, they both called for an active state.
– What we need is the return of the state. To rebuild a society that works, said Daniel Suhonen.
Daniel Suhonen (on the right) and Per Schlingmann (on the left) largely agreed when they spoke about the potential in Norrbotten and the need for government involvement.
Per Schlingmann, lecturer and former chief strategist for the Moderate Party, pointed to the interaction between state and business as a key forward:
– Experience from the US is that government investments have enormous multiple effects on the private side. The interdependence between society and business is becoming increasingly important.
All seminars except the two roundtable discussions can be viewed here: developorrbotten.se/om-regional-utveckling/motesplatser/norrbotten-i-almedalen/inspelade-seminarier-2026/
Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa
Photos: Freidon Mobaraki