Public opinion regarding the organizationof welfare and elder care are issues whichhave mainly been studied as expressions ofindividual attitudes or conflicting ideologies.By contrast, and departing from anunderstanding of the importance of contextand societal rhetoric, this study exploresa media event in the form of a Swedish TVdocumentary about problems in elder careand the reactions to it that were publishedin printed news media. The study departsfrom a discursive psychological perspectiveand focuses on what is taken for granted withregard to how elder care should be organized,and which conflicts are articulated in thedifferent articles and opinion pieces thatwere published during the month followingthe broadcast.The study also shows how elder care is not asingular issue, but always interconnected withissues such as citizenship, identity, migration,and the legitimacy of the political and legalsystem. It was found that right to formalcare for older people to a large extent wasarticulated as a right by virtue of citizenship.