Confounding hopes for a semi-normal January, 2020's madness has crashed into 2021 like a New Year's Eve reveler with no respect for his hungover neighbors. Coronavirus is "out of control," in the words of a UK government minister, reinvigorated after its late-summer lethargy by some energy-boosting mutations. Trump-loving criminals, including a half-man, half-moose hybrid, attempted to unseat the US government. And Ericsson joined forces with Huawei to thwart the Swedish government's sinister plans for a ban on Chinese network equipment.
It will not garner the same headlines as the latest chapter in the pandemic, or the American insurrection, but the sight of Sweden's 5G supremo sticking up for its Chinese nemesis is not typical. Until Sweden's government soured on China, all Ericsson had said about the geopolitical situation was that "uncertainty" was bad for investors. When governments in Australia, France and the UK decided Chinese 5G vendors were unwelcome, Ericsson preferred not to comment.