Being Swedish (at least by citizenship) is probably also a very good signal internationally speaking. Better than German for sure.
If you go to the ex-Eastern Block, you find German usually has the signal “awesome rich industrial powerhouse, want to imitate, the kind of capitalist overlord I would want to be become, bossing over everybody” and Swedish has the signal “pretty people with funny ideas like non-gendered kindergartens, lacking courage or else they would beat the shit out of immigrant rapists”.
Basically in Eastern Europe German is the second most powerful signal after American, and since people tend to worship power it works...
If you go to the ex-Eastern Block, you find German usually has the signal “awesome rich industrial powerhouse, want to imitate, the kind of capitalist overlord I would want to be become, bossing over everybody” and Swedish has the signal “pretty people with funny ideas like non-gendered kindergartens, lacking courage or else they would beat the shit out of immigrant rapists”.
Basically in Eastern Europe German is the second most powerful signal after American, and since people tend to worship power it works...
Could very well be true. But it leaves open the curious question what on earth I would be looking for in the ex-eastern block ;)
Cheap talent mainly.