Was Sweden’s refusal to lockdown a gruesome mistake?

Was there ever a jury destined to spend so long over its deliberations as the one considering whether Sweden made a terrible error over its refusal to go into lockdown? Just when you think the data points in one direction, another piece of data nods in the other. The case against Sweden rests largely on its death toll being significantly higher than that of its Nordic neighbours: 572 per million compared with 107 for Denmark, 60 for Finland and 48 for Norway. But then it also happens to be lower than several countries which had especially severe lockdowns, such as Spain (612), Britain (609) and Italy (583).

But what of the economy? The counsel for Sweden can point out that the country’s GDP fell in the second quarter by 8.6 percent, markedly less than the EU average of 12 per cent. Compare Sweden with its Nordic neighbours, however, and the picture is less flattering.