The Tegnell shark: A sign of the Swedes' confidence in power

He is joking about him on social media and songs are written. Now he has also been tattooed when Stockholm Gustav Agerblad patted Anders Tegnell on his arm.

- I think he is very cozy. He stands calm and harmonious and makes his recommendations. It feels like he has been working around the clock since this crisis escalated, yet he instills a nice calm, says Gustav Agerblad.

In addition to tattoos, you can buy everything from mobile shells and mugs to hats and baby clothes with the state epidemiologist's face on. According to many, the shark is a sign of the Swedes' high confidence in power.

- Swedes' confidence in state and government is higher than in other countries. Not exceptionally much higher than, for example, Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium but very much higher than countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and South America, says Bo Rothstein, professor of political science.

One of the reasons is that Sweden is relatively spared from bribery, corruption and nepotism, and confidence has increased further since the beginning of the corona pandemic. Over 6 out of 10 respondents in Novus's latest survey say that they have very or quite high confidence in the government's handling of the corona virus.

An advantage of Swedish confidence could be said to be that most people follow guidelines without coercion or police action. But - is there a risk that trust will be blind?

- If you tattoo Anders Tegnell on your body, it is probably near what is called blind trust. You can actually say that is it because so far we do not know if the strategy chosen by Tegnell and the Public Health Authority has been the best - we have not seen the end of this. If confidence increases very strongly and the Public Health Authority's strategy does not prove to be good, then it is just as bad, says Bo Rothstein.

But Gustav Agerblad, who has tattooed the state epidemiologist on his arm, is not worried.

- I will be as proud of this tattoo if his recommendations were wrong as if they were not. I feel strong solidarity with Anders Tegnell and for me it is a fun way to remember a traumatic time in my life, he says.