Just over a year ago, in 2020, Jonas Sjöstedt left the life in politics behind. The headlights have gone out and the applause has stopped. What happens now, he asks himself. When he finally has to travel to his family in Vietnam, he decides to do it on rails instead of by plane.

Jonas Sjöstedt takes the long journey from Umeå to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin and further east through Poland, Ukraine and Georgia. The many hours on the train, bus and ferry leave plenty of room for reflection about his youth, his time in the Riksdag, and what will happen now.

There are not many that Jonas Sjöstedt can ask about how to proceed. But during the first part of the trip, he is joined by someone else who has found a new everyday life after being party leader, Anna Kinberg Batra. Not entirely unexpectedly, they quarrel over their political differences. It's hard to let go of the debates and conflicts, but maybe she still has some good advice along the way?
Follow the journey in SVT's documentary “The Train to Hanoi”. Premieres on the 23rd of January 2022