Sweden will hold general elections tomorrow, September 11, 2022.
At the same time, the country is rocked by a wave of violent crime that is unprecedented in modern Scandinavian history.
Sweden has in just two generations gone from being one of the safest countries in the world to being one of the most dangerous countries in Europe. During the same time, mass immigration has dramatically altered Sweden's population. 1.2 million of those eligible to vote in the elections in September 2022 were born outside Sweden -- about 200,000 more foreigners than in the previous election, in 2018. Nearly one in four first-time voters aged 18-21 was either born abroad or has two parents born abroad. In central Malmö, almost every second person eligible to vote for the first time has a foreign background.
Muslim immigrants in Sweden, as in other European countries, tend overwhelmingly to vote for the Social Democrats or other socialist or left-wing parties. However, they have now become so numerous and self-confident that they also create their own political parties. Mikail Yüksel, a Turkish-born Muslim, heads Partiet Nyans, which has a following in cities such as Malmö.
However, the last few weeks has seen the far-right, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats (SD) party Continues to build on its lead over the main right-wing opposition party in the polls ahead of tomorrow's parliamentary elections , becoming Sweden's second largest party general elections in September, Politico reported.
One recent opinion poll showed support for SD is surging, with around 22 percent saying they would vote for the party, giving it the second largest backing after the ruling Social Democrats on 28 percent. POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, which aggregates polling, has the SD on 20 percent and the Social Democrats on 29 percent.
While similar parties have recently held sway in nearby Finland, Denmark and Estonia, in Sweden SD has been ostracized by mainstream rivals for decades because of its roots among neo-Nazi groups active in the country in the 1990s.
As Politico notes, the emergence of SD as a key player in Swedish policymaking would still be a radical shock to the Nordic state’s political system, which for the past century has been based largely on consensus building.
While Sweden’s immigration policies have long been liberal, SD’s platform would aim for zero asylum seekers. Sweden’s criminal justice system has traditionally focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment but SD is calling for longer prison sentences and wider use of deportation.
“Deport foreign criminals … and no discussion,” says one of SD’s new election posters.
“It is time for the Swedish people to give us a chance,” Sweden Democrats (SD) leader Jimmie Åkesson told a crowd of several hundred on a recent weekday evening.
“It’s time to give us a chance to make Sweden great again.”
Åkesson claimed the Social Democrat government had let the welfare state fall apart and said his party was growing because it dared to call out such failings and “call a spade a spade.”
“Sweden has been a great country, a safe country, a successful country and it can be all these things again,” he said.
The bottom line is that for the first time in Swedish history, a far-right populist party has a realistic shot at securing serious clout over key policy areas including immigration and policing.
Sweden will hold general elections tomorrow, September 11, 2022.
At the same time, the country is rocked by a wave of violent crime that is unprecedented in modern Scandinavian history.
Sweden has in just two generations gone from being one of the safest countries in the world to being one of the most dangerous countries in Europe. During the same time, mass immigration has dramatically altered Sweden’s population. 1.2 million of those eligible to vote in the elections in September 2022 were born outside Sweden — about 200,000 more foreigners than in the previous election, in 2018. Nearly one in four first-time voters aged 18-21 was either born abroad or has two parents born abroad. In central Malmö, almost every second person eligible to vote for the first time has a foreign background.
Muslim immigrants in Sweden, as in other European countries, tend overwhelmingly to vote for the Social Democrats or other socialist or left-wing parties. However, they have now become so numerous and self-confident that they also create their own political parties. Mikail Yüksel, a Turkish-born Muslim, heads Partiet Nyans, which has a following in cities such as Malmö.
However, the last few weeks has seen the far-right, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats (SD) party Continues to build on its lead over the main right-wing opposition party in the polls ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary elections , becoming Sweden’s second largest party general elections in September, Politico reported.
One recent opinion poll showed support for SD is surging, with around 22 percent saying they would vote for the party, giving it the second largest backing after the ruling Social Democrats on 28 percent. POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, which aggregates polling, has the SD on 20 percent and the Social Democrats on 29 percent.
While similar parties have recently held sway in nearby Finland, Denmark and Estonia, in Sweden SD has been ostracized by mainstream rivals for decades because of its roots among neo-Nazi groups active in the country in the 1990s.
As Politico notes, the emergence of SD as a key player in Swedish policymaking would still be a radical shock to the Nordic state’s political system, which for the past century has been based largely on consensus building.
While Sweden’s immigration policies have long been liberal, SD’s platform would aim for zero asylum seekers. Sweden’s criminal justice system has traditionally focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment but SD is calling for longer prison sentences and wider use of deportation.
“Deport foreign criminals … and no discussion,” says one of SD’s new election posters.
“It is time for the Swedish people to give us a chance,” Sweden Democrats (SD) leader Jimmie Åkesson told a crowd of several hundred on a recent weekday evening.
“It’s time to give us a chance to make Sweden great again.”
Åkesson claimed the Social Democrat government had let the welfare state fall apart and said his party was growing because it dared to call out such failings and “call a spade a spade.”
“Sweden has been a great country, a safe country, a successful country and it can be all these things again,” he said.
The bottom line is that for the first time in Swedish history, a far-right populist party has a realistic shot at securing serious clout over key policy areas including immigration and policing.
