Sweden: Nationalist, anti-migrant party triumphs in national elections
The nationalist party Sweden Democrats, led by Jimmy Åkesson, received around 20 percent of the vote in Sweden’s national elections held on Sunday. The reason for this success is largely attributed to Akesson’s appeal to an electorate disillusioned with the country’s traditional parties and significantly less tolerant of migrants.
The loose coalition of right-wing parties consisting of the Liberals, the Christian Democrats, the Moderates and the Sweden Democrats (Sweden Democrats) are the big winners in Sweden’s national election on Sunday (September 11). The referendum left the country to the right, for the first time in almost a century.
When the nationalist party Sweden Democrats was first voted into the Riksdag in 2010, it represented a small minority with around 5% of the vote. Now it is the second largest party in the country, with over 20% of the people’s consent.
Many believe that the reason for this success is to attribute the coalition’s leader, Jimmy Åkesson, and his popularity among an electorate that has become disillusioned with the traditional parties and is also increasingly less tolerant of immigrants.
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Link crime to migration
Åkesson, 43, comes from the rural municipality of Sölvesborg in the region of Blekinge, in southeastern Sweden. He comes from this region and has a strong accent typical of that area. During the election campaign, Åkesson presented himself as a man of the people, as someone who can understand their aspirations and concerns.
Among these concerns in Sweden, immigration is first on the list. In 2015, Sweden saw the second highest number of asylum applications per capita in Europe, after Hungary. “The main reason for the party’s (Sweden Democrats’) success over the past decade has been Sweden’s uniquely high number of asylum seekers and unusually rapidly changing demographics in terms of ethnicity and the proportion of foreign-born citizens,” says Johan Martinsson, political officer. science professor at Gothenburg University, told DW in an interview.
In recent years, the suburbs of Sweden’s major cities have registered an increase in armed clashes, mostly related to local gangs that have involved Swedish citizens, born and raised in the country, but often with parents originally from another country.
Swedish nationalists have exploited this aspect, the non-European origin of many gang members, and linked it to the fight against crime and migration.
In 2020, Akesson went to Turkey to hand out leaflets saying “Sweden is full”, with the clear intention of deterring potential migrants and drawing attention to the problem. His actions were strongly criticized in Sweden and the party leader was stopped (and deported) by Turkish authorities.
Read also: The Swedish anti-migrant party is gaining ground