The road may seem short from the Sweden Democrats (SD) being completely out in the cold to now dominating the Swedish election campaign. In the polls, they have one in five voters behind them, and the controversial party has apparently changed both the policy and the tone of the Swedish social debate. After Sunday’s election, they can for the first time gain real influence in our neighboring country. They had no idea what awaited them Many Norwegians had their first meeting with party leader Jimmie Åkesson when they turned on the news one September day in 2010. “Jimmie Åkesson sha-la-la-la-la” resounded the confident victory cry from the party’s election vigil. With 5.7 percent support, the party got over the barrier and took over the Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag, with a group of 20 people. They ended up on the verge, but gained no influence. The other parties did not even want to tackle the party with tongs. For example, another party leader refused to put on make-up before a TV broadcast in the same room as Åkesson. The Nazi roots were an important reason why the party was controversial. Political Sweden was shaken, but little did they know what was to come. In the 2014 election, the party received 12.9 percent of the vote. It was met with such disgust that the Swedish newspaper Expressen went black on its front page: 781,120 Swedes voted for the Sweden Democrats, was the headline. The Swedish newspaper Expressen the day after SD received 12.9 percent of the vote Photo: Siv Sandvik / news But the Swedes obviously did not let themselves be influenced. In the next election, SD received 17.5 percent of the vote. On Sunday, the party is poised to make record elections, once again. Turn everything upside down This time is much different. The party, which no one would talk to and in any case not cooperate with, has turned Swedish politics upside down. Not only are they invited into the heat as a cooperative party on the bourgeois side. The other parties have followed both politically and rhetorically. How is this possible in a country that has seen itself as a humanitarian role model, where prime ministers asked the people to “open their hearts” and which has had a very liberal and generous immigration policy? Is it because “sweet bro” has become more polarised, racist and xenophobic? The great paradox There is little evidence for this in research. According to Professor Sheri Berman, who researches right-wing populism in Europe, Sweden scores very low on hostility to immigrants and racism. In contrast, unrest about immigration and national identity has a greater influence on voting. The Swedes have not become more racist, but the anxiety about social and cultural issues has become more important for their choice of party. And what is important to voters is often influenced by major events. In Sweden, shootings, serious violence and gang crime have become commonplace. Last Sunday, for example, the Swedes woke up to the news of shooting incidents in Stockholm and Gothenburg. That same night, 16 cars caught fire. Shooting has become commonplace Last year there were 330 shooting incidents, and already last month the grim record was broken. It sends the Swedes to the top of Europe in the number of murders committed with firearms In recent weeks, several shooting incidents have hit random passers-by: We live in a war zone, say neighbors to the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet after a mother and her five-year-old were hit by gunfire on a playground in Eskilstuna. In recent years, there have been more than 60 shootings in that area alone. While SD was alone in talking about the problems for a long time, many parties have put law and order at the top of the agenda. There is now broad support for proposals such as stiffening the penalties, opening anonymous witnesses, secret wiretapping and more searches. The rhetoric is also different. It caused a stir when Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson from Ap’s sister party the Social Democrats said that “Somalitowns are not desirable” in Sweden. Such a statement would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The people were not listened to Another reason for SD’s strong progress is that public opinion was not reflected by the politicians for a long time. In no case has there been a greater gap between what the politicians think and what the people think than in immigration policy. While around half of the respondents said that Sweden should accept fewer refugees in the early 2000s, less than 10 per cent of the politicians thought the same. Moderate voters who were worried about immigration did not have many parties to choose from. In addition, challenges related to immigration and segregation were discussed with great caution. The people’s unrest was not listened to by the politicians. In this way, the goal has been left open for the Sweden Democrats. A student party? SD has been controversial since they were founded in 1998. Among the founders were a number of people with backgrounds in strongly right-wing and racist groups, including former Nazis. The party has cleaned up a lot in recent years and the rhetoric has been toned down. Nevertheless, there are still examples of individuals with ties to far-right groups in their ranks. Jimmie Åkesson has been SD’s party leader since 2005. He has never been closer to gaining real influence in Swedish politics. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT / NTB When the other bourgeois parties now want to cooperate with the SD, it is more out of necessity than love. They have realized that if they are to succeed in replacing the social democratic government, they must cooperate with the party which has grown with each and every election. They refuse to take the party into government. But what happens if the Sweden Democrats become bigger than the Moderates, which is the Høyre’s sister party? A lace fit While the SD has flown high in the polls, the Moderates are struggling heavily in the election campaign. Critics believe they have themselves to thank. By opening up cooperation with SD, they have legitimized the party. And then people prefer to vote for the original. But neither do the Social Democrats escape criticism for having approached SD’s politics. With Magdalena Andersson as the new Prime Minister, the party changed course and wanted to “turn over all stones” to fight the criminal gangs. At the same time, the SD is much closer to the Social Democrats in economic policy, and is perceived by many as the “defenders of the welfare state”. In addition, they try to appeal to Swedish identity with a solid dose of nostalgia, which we see a clear example of in their new election film “Sweden will be good again”. In the video, which excites and provokes, Jimmie Åkesson describes Swedes as a people who “don’t burn cars, but build cars”. The existence of the Sweden Democrats and the underlying problems that have led to their growth have been a whirlwind in Swedish politics. Preventing the party from gaining influence has been an important cause of political chaos and difficult alliance building. After the last election, it took a total of 134 days to get a new government in place. Although the Swedes have poked holes in the boil, no one believes that it will be easy after the election. But regardless of whether SD gains real influence or not after Sunday’s “shaking” of that election, there is little doubt that they have already changed Sweden. Gang crime has been the major debate topic in the Swedish election campaign. Someone has to clean up, but who? Here you get a quick guide to the most important parties in our neighboring country.
ttn-69
The Swedes’ work storm The Swedish Democrats – Statement
