The Nordic left is back in charge

THESE ARELO happy days for the Nordic left. For the first time since 2001, they are running all four big Nordic countries—all five, counting tiny Iceland. Four of the five leaders are women: Magdalena Andersson, a Social Democrat, became Sweden’s first female prime minister in November. The Nordic model envied by foreign left-wingers (though not always understood) is having a moment.So one might have expected a satisfied mood among the members of Byggnads, a construction trade union, who met at a (community centre) in Stockholm in December. Instead they were angry. The , Sweden’s trade-union confederation, had just struck a deal with the employers’ association and the government that would reform labour law to make it easier to fire workers. In exchange the state will pay more to retrain them.