Success for the party “Sweden first” gives energy to the global right | YourCentralValley.com KSEE24
STOCKHOLM (AP) – The Sweden Democrats’ party was founded by neo-Nazis and skinheads in the 1980s. Today, the reprofiled and reformed nationalist party is on the verge of unprecedented influence.
After an election at the weekend that was held amid fears of rising crime, the anti-immigration party is now the second most popular party in the Scandinavian country.
The development is the latest global example of a political force once widely considered socially unacceptable entering the political mainstream.
Vowing to put “Sweden first” and to “make Sweden great again”, party leader Jimmie Akesson’s slogans echo those that have resonated with ex-president Donald Trump’s supporters in the US.
Its surge has energized right-wing forces in Europe as they see further gains against the left.
“Let this be an omen and a model for the rest of Europe,” said a tweet from the European Conservatives and Reformists party, whose president is Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party.
In 10 days, Italians will elect a new parliament in a vote that, if polls prove correct, could see Meloni triumph as part of a center-right electoral alliance and even possibly become Italy’s prime minister.
Steve Bannon, Trump’s longtime ally, also hailed the rise of the Sweden Democrats on his “War Room” podcast, calling the shift to the right in traditionally progressive Sweden a “political earthquake.” He praised the Sweden Democrats because “they want their borders, they want their sovereignty.”
Bannon described Sweden as a broken society — a right-wing trope that exaggerates the scale of Sweden’s challenges.
Sweden is for the most part a prosperous and prosperous EU member, although many have been shaken by shootings and gang-related violence. Some, but not all, of the rising violence has taken place in largely immigrant neighborhoods.
The populist party’s strong showing was confirmed on Wednesday night, three days after a vote so close that the final result had to wait for postal votes and other outstanding votes to be counted.
With the tally made clear, the right-wing bloc of parties has 176 seats, while Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s center-left bloc has 173. On Thursday, Andersson submitted his resignation to the Speaker of the Riksdag.
Despite the Sweden Democrats’ surge – it won 20.5% of the vote, making it the largest centrist party – the stigma it can’t quite shake off means it won’t be the first party to be tapped to form a government. Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderates, another member of the center bloc, is expected to be the first to get the chance to try to form a government coalition.
Many Swedes worry that the Sweden Democrats’ history and hardline stance on immigration threatens the democratic identity of a nation that is home to the Nobel Prize and where generations of refugees have welcomed, and flourished.
Emily Jeremias, a 45-year-old musician, said she was concerned but not surprised that “a far-right party … is gaining so much power.”
“We’re seeing a kind of right-wing movement across Europe, so it’s not surprising that it’s also happening here,” she said.
During his campaign, the outgoing prime minister portrayed the Sweden Democrats as a possible threat to the country’s pluralism and tolerance.
And as Andersson conceded defeat, she said she had personally been the target of a “hate campaign” and claimed the party was using “organised trolls” to target young activists.
She and others on the left have also accused the Moderates of being complicit in normalizing the Sweden Democrats by being willing to cooperate with them.
The populist party’s more acceptable image is the result of years of effort by Akesson, its 43-year-old leader. He says the party’s transformation from its early days is sincere and that it rejects fascism and Nazism.
Under his leadership, the party long ago changed its torch symbol to a flower, aiming to underline its reformation.
Åkesson’s interest in politics began as a teenager when Sweden became a member of the EU in 1995. He opposed it at the time, but in another shift the party today supports membership in the 27-member bloc. It also supports NATO membership, which Sweden applied for this year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Åkesson’s personal image is of someone flexible and well-groomed. He plays keyboard in a soft rock band and avoids inflammatory language in his speeches, instead using humor and irony with his opponents.
As part of its reckoning with the past, the party recently published a study on the roots of the Sweden Democrats. The Swedish newspaper Expressen revealed that the author was a party member. Despite that, the investigation confirmed that several of the party’s founders in the 1980s had connections to fascist and neo-Nazi movements.
The party says that immigration to Sweden used to be most acceptable, but that it has become too much in recent years. In 2015 alone, the country of 10 million took in a record 163,000 refugees – the highest per capita of any European country.
Party members say they welcome Ukrainian refugees, but that Sweden should not have to accept more from the Middle East or Africa.
The party promises to limit asylum approval to a minimum and to deport any migrant or refugee who commits a crime. In its election manifesto, it argued that there are cases of asylum seekers claiming unfair persecution for being gay or rejecting Islam, suggesting it would limit such claims.
The Sweden Democrats say that Sweden has become “a magnet for the world’s migrants” and their goal is “to restore Sweden to what it once was.”
While it is unclear whether the Sweden Democrats will join the eventual government – not all centrist parties in the bloc are ready to agree – it is clear that any right-wing government would need their support to gain a majority. in the Riksdag to adopt legislation. The star is on the rise for Åkesson and his party.
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Olsen reported from Copenhagen, Denmark.