Swedish exceptionalism has been ended by coronavirus | Erik Augustin Palm

It has taken a shocking Covid-19 death toll to dent the national self-image of moral superiority. But dented it has been

Haverist" is a Swedish word meaning shipwrecked person". During the course of Sweden's shambolic response to Covid-19, dissent - whether from epidemiologists or journalists - has often been met with this insult, which implies the critics are fighting a losing battle. It's telling of the way Sweden has handled its failure.

Through a uniquely slack approach (seen by many as the largely debunked herd immunity" approach, even if the government denies this), Sweden reached the highest Covid-19 deaths per capita in the world in May. It still circles around the top, with more than 5,200 deaths - five times as many as in Norway, Finland and Denmark combined. After months of a mainly one-sided debate, critical voices are mounting. Even Sweden's state epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, admits to fault. But this has not been enough to change his agency's strategy, which a majority of Swedes still have confidence in - although that support has waned.