Sven Wedén

"The election was the rescue. When the election was concluded in September, Sven Wedén lost all interest in the consumers’ right to decide for themselves what type of milk should be on their kitchen tables. The demand for a consumer survey in Eskilstuna fizzled out."

"The summer went by without any action taken. No one engaged to try to sway public opinion. No one tried to get Eskilstuna-Kuriren to adopt a more impartial line. And eventually, Sven Wedén’s campaign became an increasingly greater threat to Tetra Pak. He managed to drive Mjölkcentralen’s Sven Lundberg to agree to conduct a market survey on the situation among consumers. Ruben, on his part, tried to get Prime Minister Tage Erlander to ban the bulk sale of milk. The Prime Minister was well aware that bulk milk was one of the main sources of contamination behind the paratyphoid epidemics that were spreading across the country. Poor hygiene meant that store and dairy personnel often contaminated the milk, and the disease then spread to consumers. But banning bulk milk was the absolute last thing Erlander wanted. To legislate that milk could only be sold in packaging would mean an indirect price increase for consumers, since they would have to bear the cost of the packaging. And in Sweden, household milk was, and is, sacred. Contributing to an increase in the price of milk during an election year would be committing political suicide. However, Ruben lacked an understanding of the nuances of realpolitik and became quite irritated over Tage Erlander’s stubborn refusal to agree to a ban. And Erlander, in turn, became irritated over Ruben’s constant proposals."