This year again, snow removal in the capital has been far from satisfactory, with many Stockholmers growing angry at the red-green administration. The city’s traffic commissioner, however, takes no responsibility and blames others.
When winter and snow arrived, snow removal once again performed poorly. Many residents of Stockholm could barely leave their homes for several days.
“It feels like I’ve been under house arrest,” said Maria Nicklasson to SvD when, for the first time in a week, she managed to make it to the grocery store.
Since the 2022 election, Stockholm has been governed by the Social Democrats, the Left Party, and the Green Party. Responsible for snow removal is the traffic commissioner Lars Strömgren (Green Party), who is perhaps best known for his and his party’s hostility towards the capital’s motorists.
“We’ve had the first orange snow warning since 2022, and there’s been a lot of snow over Stockholm. We can also see that the contractors we have hired have not accounted for this situation. There have been failures in several places, especially in southern districts,” he told the newspaper.
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He describes Maria Nicklasson’s situation as “unfortunate” and assures that they have reviewed how to make improvements and will demand better performance from the contractors. Despite the poor snow removal, no extra resources have been deployed – although they have increased the number of inspectors.
According to Strömgren, the city agrees that snow removal has failed in several areas and says he understands “that people can be frustrated about this.”
“I think everyone respects that it’s not my job to go out and remove snow, but we must ensure that there are contractors who can do it.”
Used to Work
According to Arbetet, as many as 100 buses had to be towed over four days in Botkyrka, Huddinge, and Söderort.
At the end of the 1980s, the city had a large fleet of machinery and its own staff performing most of this work. But then the Social Democrats began experimenting with competitive procurement. At the turn of the millennium, the center-right majority sold Stockholm Entreprenad to the construction group Peab.
The municipality would not have its own snow removers anymore; all work would be outsourced – a model Peab also later adopted, making it resemble a staffing firm even more. Subcontractors were brought in to handle snow removal, often with questionable results.
Deceiving the Client
In 2012, park engineer Mats Berglund spoke about the decline in standards.
“We had independent teams responsible for specific areas. Four or five people and a team leader. You developed a feeling for the area. When you left, you wanted it to look nice. That’s just not how it is today. Now it’s only about money. Do as little as possible. Deceive the client.”
“Many of the guys driving had no idea what they were getting into. They sped around everywhere. They wrecked lawns, electrical cabinets, everything. They got lost. It was a disaster.”