Mainstream parties have allowed the Sweden Democrats to shape the political agenda and are now paying the price
During an election campaign dominated by the themes of immigration, multiculturalism and violent crime, a spokesman for the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) tweeted a picture of a metro train in the party’s colours, accompanied by the anti-migrant message: “Welcome aboard the repatriation express. Here’s a one-way ticket. Next stop, Kabul.” Its manifesto seeks to create one of Europe’s most hostile environments for non-Europeans and make asylum almost impossible to obtain. With its roots in the neo-Nazi movement, the SD caused an electoral earthquake this week by becoming the country’s second-largest party.
The election results leave a loose coalition of the SD and the three centre-right parties ahead by a majority of three in the parliament of 349 seats. The craven compliance of the Moderates, historically the largest of Sweden’s conservative parties, has let a party condemned as “neo-fascists” by the government and shunned for most of the past decade come this close to power. The SD is unlikely to be offered any ministerial posts, but will still be able to exercise considerable influence as the largest party in the electoral alliance. Denmark, Finland, Norway, and now Sweden, once seen as bastions of social democracy – albeit less so of racial equality – have all had, or have, governments either including or relying on populist, anti-immigrant parties.
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