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Lex Orwell: Why Aren't You Listening, Reinfeldt?

Can political seppuku be that much fun?

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STOCKHOLM (Radsoft) -- The controversy surrounding Lex Orwell and prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has become so bizarre that the editors of his own newspaper Svenska Dagbladet have chosen to turn against him. Or at least to ask him in an open editorial if he really knows what he's doing.

Following is PJ Anders Linder's editorial from 3 July - short, sweet, and to the point: it makes it clear Reinfeldt and his government are hopelessly out of touch.

Fredrik Reinfeldt continues to dismiss the resistance to Lex Orwell with the argument people just haven't understood - it's not about domestic surveillance of criminals. It's about surveillance of various blurry targets abroad, he tries to teach us. But that only makes it worse. There are of course many people involved in this debate who express themselves in unreasonably sweeping statements about what Lex Orwell means. Some do it out of lack of knowledge; some do it out of hysteria; some do it because they want to get at the government. But those who have been the driving force in the opposition to Lex Orwell are neither lacking in knowledge nor superficial - but instead have an understanding of Internet related issues which dramatically surpasses that of the average parliamentarian. Reinfeldt and the other politicians in his 'alliance' have still not understood how huge and loaded this issue is. They don't see how important the Internet is for so many people, how much of their time and energy they devote to the net, and how they feel invaded by Lex Orwell the same way other people would feel invaded should the FRA spies came knocking at their door and started snooping around in their homes. Reinfelt's 'alliance' had really rotten opinion ratings amongst the young people already before Lex Orwell - so how things are now no one dares speculate. So who's advising Reinfeldt in these matters? And if he's getting good advice: why doesn't he listen?

I have a dream. My dream is that in a few years I will visit an auto showroom to buy an old used bucket of bolts and out will come a salesman and that salesman will be our current prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. This is not an unreasonable dream.
- 'Joshen'