It has been a challenging year for public services and politicians, both at national and local levels. However, the UK is not alone in this, and there is a lot we can learn about our own situation and future by looking to other countries. For that reason, the winter issue of Understanding Society is the first truly international edition from the Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute.

In this issue, Göran Persson, former Prime Minister of Sweden, shares his thoughts on the lessons we can learn from how they dealt with their fiscal crisis in the mid-1990s.

Public dissatisfaction and fear also often has an impact at the ballot box. We therefore compare recent and upcoming elections in Brazil, the U.S., Britain and France, and in particular whether they signal "change" or "continuity".

Another must-read, Christian Bason, Director of MindLab in Denmark and one of the leading thinkers on innovation in public services, gives us his ideas on the public sector response to the challenges it faces.

You will also find an overview of public attitudes to health services across the world, and a fascinating study conducted by Ipsos in Serbia for the World Bank on the impact of the economic crisis on vulnerable groups in society.