I always root for Finland, especially when it comes to Finland vs. Sweden. Ice hockey, Eurovision, business, you name it – I always cheer on my home team.

But when it comes to management of the pandemic, Sweden has my support.

As I’m writing this two years into the pandemic, on a business trip to Stockholm, restaurants, bars, gyms and hobby venues are closed back home in Finland. Here in Sweden, everything is open and life goes on.

Now, I’m not a doctor and I don’t pretend to be one on the Internet. There probably are some differences between the two countries when it comes to the corona situation, but how significant can those differences be?

Both countries are Nordic welfare states, often lumped together in international comparisons, and the omicron variant is now rapidly spreading through the entire population in both countries. Yet the way things are handled couldn’t be further apart from each other.

Currently, as I see it, Finland is inflicting serious and potentially long-lasting damage to its society and economy through continued excessive restrictions. Sweden, with its more pragmatic approach, will undoubtedly emerge as the winner in the end.