By Keith SellickSocial care writers often portray Scandinavia as some sort of Nirvana (or maybe Asgard or Valhalla). A month doesn't go by without an article appearing that ends with the sentiment: "They do it better in Sweden/Denmark".
But this recent column in the Education Guardian "The Danes have lessons for us all"
undermines that claim.
The writer has returned from a six-month lecturing stint in Denmark and notes, "for six weeks this spring, the pedagogues - who run the kindergartens and children's day care - were on strike".
So as the social pedagogues' boat docks in the UK, it is being scuttled in Scandinavia.
Social workers on strike
The pedagogues were not alone; 100,000 public sector workers including social workers and health staff were out on strike from March against an imposed wage deal and continuing pay inequality - the gender gap still exists despite legislation going back to 1973.
Both 2006 and 2007 saw record numbers of people demonstrate against cuts in welfare services, outsourcing and the replacement of skilled workers with unskilled. The government of Anders Fogh Rasmussen has increased councils' budgets by a level below inflation.
Programme for privatisations
Sweden has also faced mounting cuts. The Alliance for Sweden coalition that came into power in 2006 has cut unemployment benefits, increased monitoring of sick leave, and has a programme for more privatisations. It has gone ahead with its third year of tax cuts and freed up employment law to make it easier for firms to take on - and get rid of - young people.
People will now be paid to stay at home to look after children, which has angered women's groups who believe that state services should look after children to allow women to work.
All this is part of the recent neo-liberal attack on welfare across Europe (education reform in Greece, labour market reform in France) - the UK suffered it under the Tories.
Welfare in Sweden and Denmark may still be better than the UK, but that is because large numbers of people believe it is worth campaigning to defend their services.
Now that is worth emulating.
I am trying to find out about services of excellence for people with learning disabilities in Scandinavia. Would you be able to provide any advice on where to look? Many thanks.