Nowt

Ha! That housing bubble has been about to pop for two years now. In fact every time anyone mentions that a fiscally conservative administration could have guided this country through the last ten years vastly better than the spend -o -maniacs we foolishly trusted.

Despite Australia’s supposed dependence on minerals it was able to sail through the Asian recession as well as this one. Oops

Yes Sweden is a high tax state but it is less redistributive because there is much less to redistribute from and to. They start off much more equal ( as do Australians to whom your objection is what exactly ? )

Swedish prosperity is based on huge resources and space per head and industries established under conditions of ferocious capitalism. Its wealth was not caused by the state it happened despite the state. The fact it was the extremely fortunately placed and socially compliant allowed collectivism to flourish as a parasite does on the healthiest body. That phase of history is now ending as Europe sinks into relative torpor and indebtedness .

Nonetheless both countries are interesting and much at the heart of coalition thinking, on education for example ( Sweden) which you forgot .

Finally on Sweden you have to realize quite how bovine and tedious they are. The fans of Nordic social democracy (now in retreat) never actually want to go there.

Do you know they changed the side of the road they drive on one day. Imagine that here ..imagine it in Italy. They just like the life of a battery chicken. It would not suit me and I daresay I would soon be off somewhere chilly for a long vacation courtesy of New Labour.

Don`t get me started on the BBC I just assumed no-one else would put up with a near monopoly state broadcaster....