Introduction

Sweden received an unusual global spotlight during the spring of 2020 as its measures to contain the COVID-19 virus took a unique path. Compared with many other countries where nationwide lockdowns were implemented, the Swedish public health authority advocated for a more cautious approach to the implementation of regulations that restricted the mobility of its residents. Instead, government intervention took the form of general recommendations to the public, and only a few legal restrictions were imposed on public events (Pierre, 2020). It was only during the last months of 2020 that the government's strategy took a turn towards stronger restrictions, both rhetorically and legally, as is exemplified by legislation of a new pandemic law that the parliament voted through on 8 January 2021. The temporary pandemic law allows the government to place legally binding restrictions on businesses and public venues, including forced closure (Regeringskansliet, 2021).

About ten months into the pandemic, the death toll caused by the COVID-19 virus in Sweden approaches 10,000 as of the second week of January 2021 and close to 500,000 cases have been confirmed. The death toll relative to the population size in Sweden (900 per million) is more similar to that of England (1,172 per million) and France (979 per million), the countries in Europe hit hardest by the pandemic, than its close neighbours such as Norway (87 per million), Finland (105 per million) and Denmark (255 per million) (Johns Hopkins University/Coronavirus Resource Center, 2021). While commentators have occasionally raised their voices to criticise the apparent failure of the Swedish strategy in containing the spread of the virus and protecting the elderly population, overall public opinion in Sweden regarding the government's management of the pandemic, especially during the initial phase, was overwhelmingly positive and supportive. As much as 81 per cent of the Swedish population were said to have strong confidence in the Public Health Agency, where the state epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, who became a globally controversial figure (Milne, 2020), is employed. Moreover, the population's confidence in the government and parliament doubled over 2019 (SOM-institutet, 2020). More interestingly, the same study found that the tendency whereby public support in the government and public institutions varies across different ideological fault lines during the COVID-19 crisis decreased.