Chapter 10

10.  The shot on Sveavägen

1986 is perhaps the year that meant so much, not only for me, but especially for Sweden. My own life and the modern history of Sweden have changed completely. It was the year that the prime minister Olof Palme was murdered and I became a Philosophie doctor in economics. Palme's murder affected me more than my own academic success, and it is worth writing an entire chapter about this historic event. I was in Stockholm on the night of the murder, as I was on the day of the funeral. 

As I mentioned earlier, both Palme and Refaat came to Uppsala at the end of 1985 and both were warmly applauded and admired by an entire hall. I do not know if this was the irony of fate, but in 1986 it started with the two disappearing within a few weeks.

The collapse of Fermenta

In mid-January 1986, Volvo's chairman, P.G. Gyllenhammar, planned to sell the shares of Pharmacia and Sonesson, owned by Volvo, and be paid in shares of Fermenta, which were priced extremely high. The value of Fermenta's stake was then estimated at around 5 billion crowns.

But at the beginning of February, Björn Gillberg, who had known Refaat since their study time at Uppsala University, revealed that Refaat's supposed PhD in biochemistry was a big scam and Fermenta's technology was not worth the enormous value of its stock on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Soon after, Gyllenhammar pulled out of the giant deal, and Fermenta's stock price collapsed. 

There were many students who had bought shares of Fermenta, and some were affected after the appearance of Refaat in December. Personally, I did not dare to do it because as soon as I decided to buy, the price went up by at least 10 crowns a day.

Some others asked me for advice, but I was quite skeptical. After the bombshell that Björn Gillberg threw on the evening news, the next day its price fell by 80%. But when Refaat promised that he would show his PhD in a day or two, its price stabilized at very low levels. Gillberg was ultimately right, and Refaat was not a PhD as he said. A few days later, the share cost about one crown.

The Fermenta case was the dominant topic in the daily news. How was it possible for the director of Volvo to fall into such a trap? Was Refaat manipulating Fermenta's financial results? How could such a solemn board of directors of Fermenta agree to financial irregularities? The topic was so hot that even we in our department discussed it every day.

But, on Saturday, March 1, all media coverage of the Fermenta case suddenly ended. It was the shooting in Stockholm the night before, which would dominate the world of news for months and years to come. No one cared about Fermenta anymore.

Palme's assassination

On Friday, February 28th, I and my friends went to Stockholm's Old Town, Gamla Stan, to have fun in a pub. On Fridays we often went to various student pubs in Uppsala, but on that Friday, we went to Stockholm.

We took the train in the late afternoon and headed to the Old Town. It was a typical cold February day with snow. We had a good time in the pub with food and beer, but time went by quickly. The pub we were staying in was very close to Palme's apartment. And while we were eating and drinking, Olof and Lisbet Palme made their way to the metro station in the Old Town to go to the Grand, a Cinema in Rådmansgatan, three stops away.

We planned to take the midnight train to Uppsala and walk to the station, to get some fresh air. Since the walk would take just under half an hour, we left the pub at 11.15. We thought it was better to walk along the Drottninggatan pedestrian street to the big Åhléns store in the center of Stockholm and then turn left to Klarabergsgatan street to the central station.

Just before we reached the main square, Sergelstorg, we heard a lot of sirens and wondered what it was. Palme had just been murdered, but we had no idea. When we approached nearby, we saw some patrol cars running fast towards Hamngatan or towards Sveavägen. We thought it was common things on Friday nights, especially when people who had just been paid were going out to have fun. Some walked while others ran towards Sveavägen. We, because it was already a quarter past twelve and we were going in the opposite direction, continued towards the station so as not to miss the train to Uppsala.

We did not notice anything there, we went to the train platform, sat down, and continued to talk. Some of my friends were a little bit drunk. When we arrived in Uppsala, just before 1 o’clock in the morning, it was relatively quiet and few people on the street. Then we went home. I was quite tired and fell asleep.

At 6 on Saturday morning, the phone rang. I heard it, but I did not want to answer. But because the persistent ringing continued, I went to the hallway to answer. It was my sister from Athens who called. It was seven o'clock there and she told me that they shot and killed Palme at midnight in Stockholm. I was very angry that she woke me up. I asked her if she was dreaming or wanted to tease me so early in the morning. I told her that I was in Stockholm at night and that nothing happened there.

She insisted and told me to turn on the TV, because the Greek television was showing live from Swedish television in Stockholm. I hung up the phone and turned on the TV. Then I saw the Deputy Prime Minister, Ingvar Carlsson, very sad, in a black suit and tie, talking about the terrible event. When I heard him, I felt like I had been hit with a hard punch in the stomach and I was stunned and frozen. My heart was pounding and I sat on the couch for at least thirty minutes looking at the TV. I tried to absorb every suggestion of journalists, politicians, and the police to find out anything about the murder.

Then I went and took a shower for a long time. While the water was running down my body, a thousand thoughts passed through my head. If we had gone to another pub in Odenplan, near the Grand cinema, we would have gone via Sveavägen to the main station, just like Olof and Lisbet were going. We probably would have met the killer and perhaps he would not have fired when there were enough adults around. I refused to accept that the Prime Minister of Sweden was dead. Political assassinations cannot happen in the land of my dreams! Such a thing had not happened for 55 years anyway, that is, since the events of 1931 in Ådalen. My thought went automatically to that movie I had seen in Athens.

I was terribly sad, angry but also desperate. My amazing Sweden has just been raped by a brutal criminal who murders the country's prime minister in cold blood, while he was walking unguarded on a main street in the quiet Stockholm. Of course, it was easy enough to assassinate an unguarded prime minister in Sweden. But not even unscrupulous criminals should consider this a great act, even if they hated him. This horrific murder was the ultimate proof of cowardice and inhumanity, I thought. And if such an event happened in my innocent Sweden, where should I go? Everything was shattered.

There were many who hated Palme. My first suspicions went to the CIA because Palme had criticized the U.S. war against Vietnam, and had good relations with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. There were also some ultra-conservative Swedes, such as the EAP, who wanted to get rid of Palme because they believed that Sweden would ally with the Soviet Union. He planned to visit the Soviet Union to make an agreement turning the Baltic area into a peaceful sea free from the nuclear arms. There was also the racist regime in South Africa, which hated him for his strong support for the ANC. A week before the assassination, the ANC had held a major conference in Stockholm and the South African government had sent agents to attend. And of course, all of them could very well work together to carry out this horrific murder.

All morning, I sat in front of the TV and watched the news and all the reports. At noon, my friend Christopher called me and told me that there would be a silent memorial service behind the University, where students, various organizations and associations would participate with torches. Of course, I went there. There were many people and the atmosphere was very heavy. Everyone was silent and with a blank look they held their torches.

There were about twenty Greeks, both from the Greek Association and from the Greek Cultural House. Christopher whispered in my ear that it was the first time that these two rival clubs stood united against the enormous evil that had struck Sweden. During the heavy memorial service, there was a glimmer of hope that the Greeks at Uppsala would finally unite. But it took another three years for it to become a reality.

On Sunday, Christopher planned to go to Stockholm to visit the scene of the murder and leave some flowers. Of course I went with him. Since it was Sunday and schools in Stockholm had winter holidays, there was not much traffic and it was easy to find parking. Christopher parked the car near the Grand cinema.

We walked almost the same route that Olof and Lisbet had walked, bought some roses, and arrived at the crime scene. It was of course blocked, with many mourning, lots of placards in various languages, and a sea of flowers over the snow covering the sidewalk. We stayed there for quite some time before returning to Uppsala. On the way back we did not talk much, but we agreed that the brutal murder of Palme might be the beginning of the end for Sweden.

On Monday morning, the atmosphere in our department was very heavy. Everyone sat silently in the coffee room. After a while, the new professor in charge of my thesis, Bengt-Christer Ysander, came and asked me how much time I had left to finish my writing. Basically, it was ready, but it had to be perfected. But I could not work after what had happened and I needed some time to continue my work, I told him. He understood it and left me alone. Of course, I knew that I would have to work a little more if I wanted to defend my thesis at the end of May. And we agreed that we will check it together first, before sending it for printing.

I spent several hours a day watching television, reading newspapers, and talking to friends about Palme's murder and less time about the dissertation. I remember the Stockholm police asking people if they had any ideas to call them and maybe all their suggestions will be considered. In those years you could call the police directly, without standing in line and I called them!

To express myself correctly and clearly on the phone, I wrote down my idea that there should plan a play-back from the metro-station where Olof and Lisbet took the underground to the cinema. I assumed that the murder was not planned, and the killer, or whoever ordered the murder, must have traveled in the same train as Olof and Lisbet. Whether he was already in the same wagon before Olof and Lisbet got in, or entered the Old Town station just like them, or at the penultimate stop, Hötorget, he also got off at Rådmansgatan and followed them all the way to the Grand Cinema.

Of course, if the killer knew in advance that they were going to the cinema, he did not need to go with them. It was enough to wait for them near the Grand to confirm it. In this case, the murder was planned. But no one knew that the Palme family would go to the cinema to plan the murder according to Swedish security, and consequently must have traveled in the same wagon and got off at the same stop, in Rådmansgatan.

I recommended that the police ask the Stockholm metro to make a re-enactment, that is, to release the metro from Gamla Stan to Rådmansgatan. Of course, the police would ask all passengers in the same wagon as Olof and Lisbet to sit or stand exactly where they were sitting that Friday. When Olof and Lisbet took the metro from Gamla Stan, they should of course have noticed it, as well as when they got off at Rådmansgatan. If all the other passengers sitting in the same wagon as the Palme family were vigilant, they might remember the man sitting or standing there and could give some good signs. In the early 80s there were no mobile phones for communication, only a few "walkie-talkies". And if the suspect had a walkie-talkie, it would be even easier to identify him. The police thanked me for my theory and promised that it would be investigated.

I have read many books and articles about the murder. But from what I have read, there was never a play-back, so probably my analysis was dismissed as impossible.

Palme's funeral

Saturday, March 15, was the day of the funeral. It was a gray and very cold day. Together with Christopher we went to Stockholm to say a last goodbye to Palme. Since we would be out for many hours, we got extra warm clothes. We also knew that in the center of Stockholm, where the procession would pass, there were many barricades. But since we had planned to go to the funeral, I contacted my old friend from the University, Margaret von Platen who worked at the financial newspaper Dagens Industri, if we could go together and go through the blockade zones.

We went to her house first and then walked together towards the main street, Kungsgatan. We were not allowed to stand there, but a polite policeman suggested that we go to one of the bridges over Kungsgatan and watch the procession from above. The bridge was also blocked, but another police officer there allowed two more people if the third had a permit, provided they did not lean on the edge of the bridge so as not to be seen. So, we both went with Margaret.

After about an hour, the coffin and all the participants in the black limousines passed. I remember that both Christopher and I were in tears. We then went back to Margaret's apartment to warm up and drink something warm. We sat there for a couple of hours and watched the rest of the ceremony on TV. Then we went to the car, which was parked near the Polytechnic, to return to Uppsala.

As we walked towards Sveavägen, we noticed a lot of people standing in queue near the Adolf Fredrik Church, where the burial had taken place. An elderly lady told us that we were allowed to go to the grave, but the queue was very long and it would take some hours. It was already evening and we were hungry. Then I suggested to Christopher that we go first to eat some hamburgers and come back. We did and when we came back close to 11pm, the queue was still long.

People stood in a huge circular queue around the small cemetery, out in the wild frost. We decided to stay and stood also in line. There were a few wandering vendors selling either roses or coffee and tea. The queue was endless and I remember that we had at least three cups of coffee and tea to warm up. My feet were frozen, but we waited patiently.

If I remember correctly, we arrived at the tomb at 2.30 in the morning and behind us there were still people waiting. On the way back, Christopher put classical music on the radio. We were completely exhausted after such a heavy and tiring day. Palme's funeral will stay in my mind for the rest of my life. Even now that I write, after 37 years, I feel chills and emotion.

A few days later I also told Villy that the shooting in Sveavägen reminded me of "Ådalen 31" and that I went with Christopher to the funeral. He was happy and invited us for dinner. There Villy and Eva told us some interesting stories about Palme what he was like as a person and a politician.

Epilogue

Reading this chapter, you will probably get the impression that I must have been a passionate social democrat. The truth is that I have never been involved in politics. I would probably express the same feelings even if they had killed a conservative prime minister. For me, the murder of Palme was above all murder against my beloved Sweden.

Of course, we must not forget that after the shooting in Ådalen in 1931, the Social Democrats came to power for the first time and created the famous Swedish social welfare system. Although in my dissertation I wanted to show the importance of Swedish inventions for the economic development of the country, both the first Prime Minister, Per-Albin Hansson, and his successor, Tage Erlander, had played an important role in the Swedish model. I share the same view as many foreign researchers, analysts, historians, and politicians.

Olof Palme was Tage Erlander's successor and of course he fought for Sweden like the previous ones. In addition, I appreciated his brilliance, his intellectual ability, his courage towards both the United States and the Soviet Union, and his passion for international solidarity, peace, and justice.

The old social democrats had a perfect mixture of socialism and capitalism. Of course, the rhetoric of the class struggle existed all time, but it was maintained at balanced levels. Instead, they tried to bridge class differences and succeeded with the Saltsjöbaden agreement in 1938 to unite capital with the workers for the prosperity of their country. As a result, the Social Democrats became the dominant party and governed the country for several decades.

The reforms mainly concerned a more even distribution of income and welfare. And this was achieved with the help of private enterprises where almost all worked and produced incredible industrial products that were exported all over the world.

The growing prosperity was naturally financed by high taxes, which led to problems a few decades later, when their industry shrank and taxes had reached very high levels. And when taxpayers felt that politicians began to prioritize other areas and could no longer handle the growing problems, trust in them declined.

After Palme's death, the decline of social democracy began. The assassination itself occasionally led to a temporary surge in popularity of the party, but no one could stop the negative trend. Only his interim successor, Ingvar Carlsson, had great respect for classical social democratic values and tried to govern the country accordingly. His time in power was quite short and all those who took over later saw the continuous decline of social democracy in every election. I think that many who remained in the social democratic party changed their ideas, while those who wanted to keep their classical ideas, changed parties!

And so, this elite party became an ordinary party, while most social democrats who left politics switched to lucrative private or public enterprises.

Sometimes life is unfair. You don't have to be a good politician to get a good non-political job later. After all, the private sector rewards all former politicians, as it expects politicians to have "confidential" information that is important to the employer. And although "private information" is punishable when one uses it in the stock market, the same is not true of politicians who move into the business world.

Det var då det…

EU startade i slutet på 1950-talet, som en frihandelsorganisation och hette då EEC och lite senare ändrades till EG (Europeiska Gemenskapen). I början av 1990-talet utökades samarbete och omfattade de fyra viktigaste friheterna, dvs frihandel med varor, med tjänster, fria kapitalrörelser och fri arbetsmarknad. Man införde även en gemensam valuta (Euro), gemensam penningpolitik och samordning av statsfinanserna, där exempelvis inte var tillåtet att ha ett budgetunderskott högre än 3% och inte heller en statsskuld högre än 60% av BNP.

Maastrichtkriterierna kontrollerades noga av EU kommissionen och den Europeiska centralbanken. Alla minns hur Grekland tvingades till extrema åtgärder under flera år för att minska den stora statsskulden och budgetunderskottet. Greklands enda argument var att landet var det enda EU-landet som satsade år efter år mer än 3% av budget till sitt försvar. Landet hånades av alla EU-länder och ingen accepterade detta argument… Men det var det då.

Idag har EE omvandlats radikalt och ingen tycks bry sig om Maastrichtkriterierna. Idag är det NATO och USA som bestämmer och rent av struntar man hur länderna skall finansiera sina försvar. Helst att ta resurser från välfärden, pensioner, sjukvård, skola och stärka försvaret. Men även om länderna ökar upplåningen och statsskulden är det också godkänd. Och ingen professor i nationalekonomi vågar kritisera att man kan bryta mot skuldnivån. Man vill inte kritiseras för Putinist eller för naiv och inte inse hotet från Ryssland!

När jag studerade i Grekland på 1970-talet minns jag de väldiga demonstrationerna i Athen där den vanliga parollen löd ”EOK kai NATO to idio syndikato”, dvs EU och NATO är samma syndikat. Jag debatterade ofta med mina studentkamrater och trodde aldrig på att EU och NATO är samma sak, även om Bryssel var deras huvudstad. Femtio år senare erkänner jag att mina studentkamrater hade rätt och jag hade fel! Tyvärr har det blivit så. Än så länge är det endast Irland och Österrike som inte är NATO-medlemmar. Frågan är hur länge de skall tillåtas förbli neutrala EU-länder, när dagens EU-ledare är mäklare för NATO. Den som tror att Macron är Mitterrand (eller d’ Estaing), Metz är Kohl (eller Merkel), eller Kristersson och Andersson är Palme, behöver medicinsk vård.  

Katastrofala strategier i svensk bilindustrin!

Jag har följt bilindustrin, dels som forskare och debattör på 90-talet, dels som bil intresserad i mer än 30 år. I denna artikel kommer vi först att konstatera ”experternas” och andra beslutsfattarnas grava fel vad gäller Volvo-Ford och Saab-GM för att sedan kunna dra några lärdomar av svenskarnas envisa förtroende för den amerikanska kapitalismen.

Lönsamheten i svensk bilindustri, har aldrig varit särskilt hög. Detta är en naturlig följd av följande faktorer: (1) Den relativ låga produktionsskalan; (2) De relativt höga driftskostnaderna, (särskilt bensinförbrukningen); (3) Den egendomliga svenska preferensen att, som enda bilproducerat land, föredra i större utsträckning utländska bilmärken framför Volvo och Saab; (4) Signalteori, när exempelvis även svenska politiker och tjänstemännen i den offentlig sektor, till skillnad från andra bilproducerade länder, kör gärna utländska bilar.

Volvos moderna historia

Volvos chef PG Gyllenhammar, insåg redan i slutet på 70-talet att man måste ha en solid finansiär för att utveckla de alltför dyrare nya bilmodeller. Hans strategi var att sälja en del av Volvo till Norge i utbytet mot olja. Affären stoppades av bl. a Aktiespararna, som fortfarande är stolta över(!), medan normännen är naturligtvis mycket tacksamma för att de inte sålde sina oljefält. En serie av krondevalveringar och den höga konjunkturen på 80-talet dämpade fusionsplanerna. I början på 90-talet sökte PG ett samarbete med Renault, som skulle leda till fusion. Hans närmaste chefer (med bl. a Sören Gyll i spetsen), tillsammans med några starka aktieägare, lyckades stoppa affären av flera skäl: Renault var ”statligt”, ”byråkratiskt”, ”nationalistiskt”, ”ineffektivt”, de skulle få majoritet, huvudkontoret skulle flytta till Paris, Renault inte skulle utveckla Volvo som man önskade, eller t o m att man kunde klara sig på egen hand. I en av mina artiklar, i Göteborgs Posten, 10-11-1993, skrev jag bl. a följande: ”Ett nej till Renault i dag innebär att Volvo, som självständig biltillverkare, kan möjligen klara sig 5-6 år till”.

Det tog precis 5,5 år innan Ford köpte Volvos personvagnar för ca 50 mdr kr. När det blev klart att det var ett Amerikanskt företag, nästan alla i Sverige, inklusive de som hävdade tidigare att Volvo kunde klara sig på egen hand, tävlade med varandra om att hitta det bästa epitetet för att beskriva denna affär. Det är viktigt att det som sades för ca 11 år sedan av alla ”experter” och beslutsfattare skall komma fram, så att den vanlige medborgaren skall inse hur mycket fel alla hade då. Jag har samlat nedan en del citat från denna tid (Aftonbladet, 28-29 januari 1999).

Göran Persson: ”Volvo försvinner inte till USA. Volvo Personvagnar får bara en annan ägare. … Och det är bra”. Björn Rosengren (näringsminister): ”Visst kan man tycka att det är sorgligt, men samtidigt är Ford en bra köpare”. Leif Johansson, (koncernchef, Volvo): ”Framtidsutsikterna för Volvo Personvagnar förbättras genom att bolaget blir en viktig del av en av världens största och lönsammaste biltillverkare”. Håkan Frisinger, (styrelseordförande Volvo): ”Det här är en lösning som stärker framtidsutsikterna för Volvo Personvagnar, dess anställda och hela Volvo-gruppen”. Christer Karlsson, (professor): ”Det är den bästa lösningen för Volvo. Fords finansiella styrka och ställning som en av världens mest lönsamma biltillverkare är en viktig faktor”. William Ford Jr (Fords styrelseordförande): ”Vår vision inför 2000-talet är att bli världens ledande biltillverkare, att inte längre vara näst störst. Att köpa Volvos personbilar är ett betydelsefullt steg för att nå det målet”. Jacques Nasser, (VD Ford): ”Ni ska få fortsätta driva företaget ungefär som tidigare och behålla mycket av er egen profil”.

Det bör nämnas, att några månader tidigare tackade Volvo ledningen nej till Fiats förslag att bli uppköpt av italienarna, till ett mycket större belopp, men inklusive lastvagnar också. I den svenska mentaliteten då var det naturligtvis otänkbart att sälja Volvo till Fiat när Amerikaner erbjöd sig att köpa. Christer Karlsson t ex, sade i en intervju i Aftonbladet samma tid, att han ”inte kunde se några nackdelar med affären”. Han var så positiv och trodde att ”Volvo skulle utvecklas precis som Jaguar som blev en succé under Ford”, eftersom ”Ford är en på alla områden bättre biltillverkare än Fiat”. Tråkigt för honom och för flera till som trodde på detta argument när ”världens näst största och lönsammaste biltillverkare” hamnade i sådana gigantiska underskott och ”succén” Jaguar, men även Land Rover, såldes till indiska Tata Motors 2008. I dag efterfrågas fortfarande Christer Karlssons åsikter om Volvo och Saab, av journalister som, förmodligen, inte orkar gräva fram vad som sades då av samma professor.

I en artikel i GP, 2-2-1999, uttryckte jag mina farhågor vad gäller Ford. Och denna fantastiska affär blev ca 11 år gammal. Nu är det många som har konstaterat att det inte blev riktigt som man hade hoppats på, eller som man var säker på att det skall ske. Under Fords ledning missade Volvo mycket tid med utvecklingen av mer miljövänliga bilar. Miljön på andra sidan Atlanten har aldrig varit lika viktig som t ex att utveckla sub-bilar, och för Volvos del när marknaden var redan ute! Nu säljer Ford till kinesiska Geely och Maud Olofsson, precis som Björn Rosenberg tidigare, tycker att det är en bra affär. Och kineserna själva försöker lugna Ford (och svenskarna) genom att upprepa Jacques Nassers citat, ca 11 år tidigare!

Jag har ingenting emot kineser, snarare tvärtom! Jag har dock några frågor till alla dem som fattade de strategiska besluten att inte fusionera sig med Renault och sälja sig till Ford och till alla experter som argumenterade mot Renault affären tidigare: Är Geely mindre statligt idag än vad Renault var då (eller i dag för den delen)? Har kineserna mer gemensamt med svenskarna än vad fransmännen skulle ha haft? Kommer kineserna att bry sig mer om Volvo i händelse av kris, än vad Renault skulle ha gjort? Varför spelar ingen roll längre om huvudkontoret inte skall vara kvar i Göteborg (eller i Detroit)? Skall vi kanske tacka ett kapitalistiskt Amerikanskt företag som vågar sälja Volvo till ett halvstatligt kinesiskt företag, medan vi själva var rädda för Renault ca 17 år tidigare? Har kanske Volvos värde sjunkit så långt och i dag nöjer vi oss med detta?

Saabs moderna historia

När det gäller Saab, kan man hitta liknande strategiska fel. I början på 80-talet hade familjen Wallenberg ett mycket lyckosamt samarbete med familjen Agnelli (Fiat). Resultatet av detta samarbete blev Saab 9000, som hade samma bil platta som Fiat Croma, Lancia Theta och Alfa Romeo164. Enligt den dåvarande Saabchefen Sten Wennlo, tack vare detta samarbete sjönk Saabs utvecklingskostnader från runt tio mdr kr ner till ett par miljarder. Den första Saab 9000 kom i mitten på 80-talet. Köerna var långa, förväntningarna var stora och bilen blev förmodligen den bästa bilen Saab har någonsin tillverkat. Motortidningarna rosade bilen som nästan perfekt. Saabs ”all time high” bilförsäljning skedde i samband med denna framgångsrika bil, som såldes i ca 10 år.

Att ersätta denna modell krävdes förstås en hel del miljarder som Saab inte hade. Fiat var fortfarande intresserad av Saab och förhandlingarna om ytterligare samarbete intensifierades. I oktober 1989 erbjöd Fiat att förvärva 51% av Saab för 780 miljoner dollar. Wallenberg valde i stället den 15 dec 1989 att sälja 50% av Saab till GM, för 600 miljoner dollar. Än så länge, ingen vet varför Wallenberg sålde billigare till GM. Eftersom förhandlingarna med Fiat pågick samtidigt i Paris fram till den 15 dec(1), blev naturligtvis italienarna mycket upprörda ner de kördes över av familjen Wallenberg, till förmån för GM. Italienska medier var också mycket irriterade över Wallenbergs beslut. Jag minns själv vilket kyligt bemötande jag fick när jag uppsökte en Fiat verkstad i Genova för åtgärda krockskadorna på min Saab (jag hade krockat utanför Genova på väg till 1990 VM match mellan Skottland och Sverige).

När Saab såldes till GM, florerade i media samma typ av argument som i Ford-Volvo affären. Man var säker på att GM, världens största bilföretag, som hade de finansiella muskler som behövdes, skulle utveckla Saab. Göran Persson exempelvis, när han kommenterade Ford-Volvo affären sade följande: ”Jag är Saab-ägare och kör en svensk bil. Men Saab ägs av GM. Den fusionen har varit bra för Sverige och svensk bilindustri”. Förmodligen hade Göran Persson lika kort tids horizon i sina ”företagsekonomiska” bedömningar, som i sin egen politik.

Strax innan GM tog över, sålde Saab ca 145000 bilar, en siffra som mer än halverades under GM:s ledning. Saab blev för GM en lite lyxigare variant av Opel, som man delade ju bil plattor med. Det lär inte finnas många bilexperter som kan hävda att Opel-Saabs bil plattor är bättre än de som Saab delade med Fiat/Lancia/Alfa-Romeo tidigare. Förlusterna är lika stora i dag och modellprogrammet mycket smalt och åldersstiget. Och jag delar precis Sten Wennlos åsikter som framfördes i Expressen den 5 maj, 2009. "Med Fiat skulle Saab nog ha varit bättre rustat inför klimatkraven på bränslesnåla bilar”. Har kanske dessa ”experter” förstått det bättre i dag till vilket företag man sålde Saab till, när dess chefer flyger privata flygplan för att åka till kongressen för att be om gigantiska finansiella belopp?...

GM, behöll Saab ca 20 år. Men till skillnad från Ford som säljer Volvo vidare, planerar GM att avveckla ett företag som skulle ju utvecklas. Hur mycket sämre skulle Saab ha varit idag om Wallenberg valde att sälja den till Fiat i stället? I dag är man så desperat och struntar man i vem som skall köpa, det må vara Ryssar, Araber, Kineser, ja vem som helst, bara att GM hittar någon. T o m Christer Karlsson undrar i dag om GM medvetet vill lägga ner Saab. Men, när värdet har sjunkit så pass mycket, finns det knappast någon stark kandidat längre. Eller tänk om Fiat dök upp igen, vad glad skulle man bli, alla skulle lovorda ”bella Italia” och alla skulle plötsligt överge Inter, när Zlatan är borta, och börja heja på Juventus i stället, som ägs ju av Fiat.

Förmodligen kommer alla de som argumenterade och alla som fattade dessa felaktiga och katastrofala beslut för Volvo och Saab att aldrig erkänna att de har gjort fel och kommer som vanligt att försvara sig med att: ”trots allt var de bästa besluten”. Jag är inte säker på det. Som européer borde vi ha haft mer förtroende för andra européer, precis som PG hade innan Sverige ens var med i EU, och vara betydligt försiktigare med Amerikaner. Historien har ju visat att deras tids horizon är ganska kort. Och trots att man har blivit lurat, minst två gånger av de allra största Amerikanska företag, har svenskarna fortfarande mer förtroende för Amerikaner än för EU. Förmodligen, skulle man återigen välja Amerikaner framför Italienare eller Fransmännen.

Men, en Volvo under Renault och en Saab under Fiat idag skulle aldrig lämnas utan stöd av Sarkozy och Berlusconi, till skillnad från Maud Olofssons obeslutsamhet. Och Fredrik Reinfeldt skulle inte behöva svara på att ”jag inte tänker ringa presidenterna för hjälp” eftersom herrarna Sarkozy och Berlusconi skulle ha gjort det som behövde göras. Och vi i Sverige skulle slippa all försvar av ”fri konkurrens” inom bilindustri (och banksektorn för den delen), för att den aldrig har existerat, så länge alla regeringarna ställer upp med olika slags garantier och stimulansåtgärder, eller ofta utformar strategisk handelspolitik för just dessa sektorer. Hur i hela friden kan man prata om "fri konkurrens" när alla som kan grunderna i mikroekonomi vet att knappast någon av "fri konkurrens" villkor gäller i bilindustrin? Alla nationalekonomer som sysslat med denna sektor har betraktat den antingen som "monopolistiskt konkurrens", eller "differentierad oligopol" med stora skalekonomier. I sådana marknader FINNS INGEN UTBUDSKURVA, m a o, fri konkurrens modellen med utbud och efterfågan faller!

Det är minst sagt patetiskt när våra politiker försöker alltid vara bäst i klassen, genom att tillämpa i punkt och pricka en ”laissez faire” politik som har predikats, och flera gånger våldtagits av just de främsta kapitalisterna! Det senaste exemplet var när den Amerikanska staten blev den största aktieägare i GM, när man pumpade minst 55 miljarder dollar i år... En sådan politik gläder bara våra konkurrenter och ingen annan. Förstår Maud och alla "liberaler" detta?

Chapter 9

9.   1985 (Uppsala)

 

Party at my house

In April 1985, my late friend and colleague Jonas Agell and I decided to organize a joint birthday party, because we were born the same date. The party would be held at our apartment because I had a larger kitchen and two big rooms. We invited many people from the department. I offered to cook something Greek, a meat stew with potatoes. In Hans' apartment where I lived, there were two large pots for all guests.

Karin, one of the secretaries who lived nearby, arrived quite early, just as we started to boil water and Jonas peeled potatoes. She joined us in the kitchen; we offered her some wine and chatted. After a while, when the water had boiled and the pieces of meat had been fried in the frying pan, I poured them into the pans with a little salt, pepper, oregano, onion, and garlic. Then I poured in a lot of Greek olive oil. Karin looked surprised and asked if I did not have a tape measure to know how much oil I should put in. I replied I did not have, and then she thought if she knew that, she could buy me such a gift.

Eventually people started coming in and then I heard Karin whispering to the others that I did not use a tape measure and probably there was too much oil in the meat pot. Still, she hoped it would taste good.

A couple of hours later, when everyone had arrived and the stew had cooled down a bit, it was time to eat. I served the ladies first and noticed that Karin who was sitting on the kitchen table was very careful and did not dare to taste. I thought she did not want to burn herself because it was still hot. Most of the guests were in the other room and started eating. Suddenly Berit's voice was heard "God what a fantastic stew you have cooked Christos!", and everyone else agreed. Karin also replied that I was lucky with the correct dosage of olive oil. Jonas laughed and said: "Karin, no one can be poisoned by too much oil in the pot. The Greeks have been using the oil since ancient times!"

Stockholms Marathon

In June I was going to run the Stockholm marathon. I started training already in the autumn and the training intensified during the spring. While I ran several kilometers three or four times a week, I also thought about the thesis. It was boring to just run without using the time efficiently at the same time. In fact, the distance felt shorter when I thought about the thesis.

I remember one evening, after I had run a few kilometers, I thought of an excellent argument and I was afraid that I would forget it after I had run my round. So, I ran straight home, I wrote down the argument and then I kept running. The argument is of course included in the thesis and is about the difference between human needs and demand and their impact on the emergence of innovations.

In early May, I used to run longer distances. On a warm Sunday I ran to Storvreta which is about 15 kms from Uppsala. In my sock I put a ten-krona note to buy a soft drink. When I arrived at Storvreta center, I was completely exhausted and very thirsty. I took my wet ten from my sock and thought about buying a soda. At the same time, I was thinking about buying a bus ticket back to Uppsala, otherwise I would not be able to run back. I went to the kiosk owner and asked what the soda cost.

It cost seven kronor, exactly as much as the bus ticket. The bus stop to Uppsala was close to the kiosk and the bus driver sat in the shade waiting to leave. Before I bought the soda, I went to him and asked if I could travel a few kilometers with 3 kronor, because I wanted to buy something to drink! He felt sorry for me who was so sweaty, but could not help me because it was misconduct if there was a check. I was also very mad at myself because I was so stupid and did not put another ten kronor in the other sock!

Since the soda was more important than the bus ride, I went back to the kiosk to buy soda and chewing gum. He also felt sorry for me and I got three pieces of chewing gum. I thanked him for his generosity, drank the soda right away and after a while started running back with three chewing gums in my socks. A few kilometers later it started to get difficult and I took the first chewing gum and after a while the second and then the third. Near Gamla (Old) Uppsala there was a football field and there I took a shower before I got home, completely exhausted.

A couple of weeks later I ran a shorter session towards Sunnersta. It was also a hot day and the birches had bloomed. After a few kilometers I noticed that it itched and tears flowed from my eyes. I also felt that my nose was stuffy and I sneezed. I shortened the round and returned home. Late in the evening, the tears continued, my eyes were red, I sneezed and it was difficult to sleep.

At 3 o'clock in the morning I took my bike and cycled to the University Hospital. It was already light, quiet, and beautiful, but the silence was broken by the eternal chirping of the birds. When I arrived at the emergency room, there was not a single person there, except for the nurse at the reception. When she saw my eyes, she called a doctor and a few minutes later I followed him to the examination room. After a short examination, he concluded that it was pollen allergy and many people had already been affected in the past week. He asked if I was allergic and answered negative; it was the first time I was affected by it. He warned me with the intense training during the pollen season and maybe I should not run marathon. I got a pill, he dripped my eyes and I cycled back home. Everything took less than a quarter of an hour. The emergency visit that time was so fast indeed, compared to nowadays.

Finally, it was time for the marathon. I had been preparing for months and I promised the department's marathon man, Steffan, that I would make it through the race. We took the train to Stockholm together and decided to meet on the lawn, inside the Stadium, after the race. In fact, Steffan was supposed to wait for me there, since I expected to reach the finish line an hour or so after him. We picked up our number bibs and handed over our clothes to the guards. As a beginner I had number 16993, while Stefan who had run a few times before and had good times got a much better starting place.

My starting place was of course among the worst. I remember that when the starting gun went off, we were still standing there and started moving a quarter of an hour later. In fact, there was no running for the first few kilometers, we just crowded with each other. Only after another ten minutes did it start to get a little sparser in front of us and we could run a little anyway. I think we had 38 kms left when we started running for real. I tried to think about the thesis, a tactic that worked during my training in Uppsala, instead of how many kms I had left. It was very hot and around the track there were a lot of people cheering us on. Barbara and her friends were also standing at Slussen as we had agreed, and I got a banana from her.

When we arrived at the City Hall, it felt like I had blisters on my feet and it hurt a little. I asked an official where the first aid was and I was told that it was outside the Stadium at Vallhallavägen. I kept going, because I had quite a good time and if I could keep the same pace, I would complete the race in less than 3.5 hours. Stefan had warned me not to wear brand new running shoes, but I should have worn them for a couple of weeks so that they softly shaped by my feet. Unfortunately, I only used them once before the race and it was stupid.

When I arrived at the Stadium, it looked like a war site. There were several ambulances and nurses who worked feverishly to deal with blisters, cramps, nausea, and vomiting. Many runners sat in the shade on the small lawn and waited for help. I also lay there and took off my shoes and socks. I had some blisters in my feet that were very wet. A photo reporter saw me and wondered if he could take a photo of my feet, while I waited for an available nurse. I stretched my feet to the sky and he took a photo of my feet and my number bib.

After a few minutes, a nurse came and she put an elastic band under my feet. She assured me that it was not too bad, but I should be a little careful at first until the straps would start working. The photo reporter was amazed when I got up and prepared to run again. He shook his head and wondered how I could run another twenty kms with such abrasions. I replied that I would try, and had nothing to lose. He wished me luck and I started moving. Lying on the lawn for about 10 minutes after I had run half the distance and start running again, was not easy. I was a little stiff in my body, but after a couple of hundred meters it came off. The elastic band worked and a quarter of an hour later it did not hurt anymore.

There were many fun scenes during the race, especially for us who did not think about the time and just wanted to get to the finish line. A guy who was running next to me told me that he was getting a little hungry and after a while he moved towards the sidewalk where a young woman was peeling a banana. He took the banana out of her hand and yelled, "I am so sorry, I'm so hungry! The lady just laughed and replied "go ahead and good luck!"

On the second lap on the big Västerbron it was impossible to run. The slope of the uphill of the bridge felt like it was at least 30 degrees. People standing next to us had to come onto the track and push us up, or pull us until we got to the top of the bridge.  

A few kilometers before the finish line, a runner started running very fast and suddenly he turned to everyone, pointed to a sign, and yelled: "Be careful guys, keep the speed of 30 km/h and the police watch you!" I was so tired and could not even laugh.

In the end, I reached the finish line in just over four hours. Stefan was already there and saw me when I crossed the finish line. I jogged for a few minutes and then I lay flat on the lawn. There we got some bananas, chocolate, and yogurt. After we had picked up our clothes, we took the subway to the Central station and on the train to Uppsala.

When we arrived, it was impossible to get up. My whole body was stiff. Stefan and the conductor lifted me from my seat and helped me to step down to the platform. I went home limping but even there it took several minutes to walk up the stairs to the first floor I lived. I took a long shower and then sat down by the couch to watch TV. Again, it was difficult to get into bed. I do not think I slept much that night.

When I woke up on Sunday, I checked my feet. The elastic band that the nurse put on my feet was gone, as were the blisters. I looked at the socks that were a bit sticky, but no bands were visible. I was going crazy and called the University Hospital. A nurse then explained that they had developed a new elastic band at the dermatology clinic in Uppsala that helped effectively, especially on blisters and was also absorbed by the skin! It was really an interesting news to hear!  

On Monday morning in the break room, I expected all my colleagues to congratulate me on my achievement. But no, they felt sorry for me because I only managed half the distance. I was very surprised and then Monica showed me that I became famous, because the local newspaper Uppsala Nya Tidning had a big picture of me when the nurse helped me. Under the picture was the following: "Twenty kms managed these feet without treatment, but no more. It is Christos Papahristodoulou, Uppsala, who is helped by a caring nurse on Vallhallavägen".

The newspaper took for granted that it was only twenty kms, i.e. after one lap. I was really annoyed with the reporter who had found me via the number bib that I was from Uppsala, but had not checked my name on the results list. I did not have the energy to go home and pick up the medal I had received. A short time later, Stefan came to the break room and asked everyone if they had congratulated me. Then everyone understood that it was misspelled by the reporter and urged me to contact the newspaper. I did it right away and he was impressed that I had made it through the race despite big blisters on my feet. He asked me to come to the editorial office and gave me two large pictures of my feet that he had photographed.

My professor Bentzel was about to retire in 1985 and he tried to convince me to present my dissertation, no later than December. But the new professor Bengt-Christer Ysander, who had already been installed, thought that some adjustments were needed that would take about half a year. Considering that I had funding for another year, I was able to extend the dissertation time without any problems. I noticed that Bentzel was a little sad because as an emeritus he would not have the honor of leading my dissertation. 

Olof Palme in Uppsala

The first time I saw Olof Palme up close was in May 1985 in the main building of the University in Uppsala. Gonzalez of Spain had a lecture on the new democracy in Spain compared to Sweden. I remember Palme laughing and shaking his head when Gonzalez mentioned two incidents that had taken place in 1981 and 1982 to overthrow his country's democratic regime. After the lecture, both leaders stood on the steps of the University completely unprotected and talked to the people. Of course, it surprised me very much because I did not see any guards around them.

The second time I saw him in Uppsala; he was going to speak to the students at the Economy. The meeting had been arranged by the social democratic students in Uppsala, and Palme was to speak about international solidarity, aid, disarmament, and peace, and was scheduled for early in the evening.  

The talk was planned early in the evening. It was late in November, cold and snowy outside and from what I found out afterwards, Palme took the train with, among others, Anna Lindh and a few others from Stockholm and walked from the station to University, HMC. Fotis and I, a Greek who studied computer science and used to study in the library until late at night, sat in the cafeteria and planned to go to the auditorium to listen to him. Next to us sat some Swedish Social Democratic students who were also waiting for Palme.

After a while, Palme came with his company, snowed in, without any guards. The cafeteria was located just outside the auditorium where Palme was to give his speech. He left his coat and bag on a chair and asked how many people wanted coffee. Then he walked past our table, greeted us kindly and stood in line to buy coffee for everyone! As long as I live, I will always remember this scene. I was shocked and speechless.

Fotis, on the other hand, who had come to Sweden with his parents when he was a child, was more level-headed. He said it in Greek that only a Swedish prime minister does that. Unfortunately, there were no cell phones that time to film this historic moment. Palme took about ten coffee cups and a few sandwiches on his two trays, paid, and started serving all the students who had ordered. Then "thank you Olof" was heard by the spoiled students who were served by the prime minister himself and they began to chat with each other.

For a moment I thought about going to him and introducing myself, but I did not dare, I just looked at him as he talked and laughed with all the students there. At the same time, I thought about the high school's geography book, which wrote that if you are lucky, you can meet the Swedish king on the street, or ministers in the grocery store. I did not really believe it then, until I experienced that it is true in Sweden.

The speech was warm and emotional and the entire auditorium was captivated by his deep commitment to justice, peace, and solidarity. I remember that when an African student asked a question in English, because he felt lonely and isolated in Sweden and asked if he had any advice to give, Palme became sad. He answered him in English, of course, and urged Uppsala's student union, and of course the Social Democratic students, to help with everything they could to break the isolation of foreign students. He joked and said that if they do not have the resources for such activities, they should apply for funding from the ministries or SIDA (the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and he would make sure that they got money for it!

The seminar ended very late and Palme wanted to walk back to the station. But it did not quite turn out that way, a taxi came and drove him there because he was going to miss the train to Stockholm and the next train would leave at midnight.

Refaat El-Sayed in Uppsala

A couple of weeks later, another interesting event occurred, exactly in the same place. It was the Uppsala Economists' Association that had invited the charismatic entrepreneur Egyptian Refaat El-Sayed to talk about his company Fermenta.

Fermenta had become a rocket on the stock exchange in Stockholm in a few years and a couple of workers went with their Rolls-Royce to the factory in Strängnäs! The whole of Sweden was talking about Fermenta and the company's share price exploded and was at the top. Refaat, who had studied in Uppsala, of course accepted the invitation and came there with the entire board sitting in the first bench.

The auditorium was packed and had as many listeners as when Palme was there. Refaat, who has just been named the Swede of the Year, came in with his sporty corduroy trousers and the red polo shirt and the audience began to applaud. He brought some overhead pictures that he wanted to show in one of the two overhead devices that were in the room.

The chairman of the association sat behind one of the devices, got a picture from Refaat, turned on the lamp and showed it. But it was very blurry. She tried to adjust the light but it was impossible. She moved over to the next device, but the same problem was there too. You could hardly see any figures from the balance sheet that Refaat wanted to show. Then he turned to her and said: "Is Uppsala University so poor nowadays and cannot afford to buy any good equipment? Buy 100 apparats and send the bill to Fermenta! It's the least I can do for the university that made me a biochemistry doctor." The auditorium exploded with cheers, laughter, and applause!

Then he wrote some numbers on the whiteboard, something he had not done since his university studies, he said. He was happy to answer all the questions he was asked and joked about the Fermenta’s stock price that would continue upwards and encouraged everyone who had not bought the shares to do so. It was a much better financial support compared to student loans he said.

So happily, ended 1985 in Uppsala.