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A few days before the elections in Sweden, the “most dangerous country in Europe” for the German press, the Sweden Democrats (SD) party has become the second party in voting intentions, verging on 22% of popular support, 4% more than its results in the 2018 elections. Sweden Democrats is a national conservative party belonging to ECR, the European Conservatives and Reformists group that includes Fratelli d’Italia, VOX, and other ideologically aligned parties.
Known for its opposition to mass immigration, the party has received the usual labels of “extreme right,” “xenophobic,” and “racist” and has suffered a cordon sanitaire from other political parties —saying that the King is naked has a high price, after all.
But the reality is stubborn, and the situation has reached such a point that even the creators of the so-called “Swedish paradise,” the social democrats, now recognize its failure. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said in an interview with the daily Dagens Nyheter that ethnic ghettos in big cities are a breeding ground for organized crime: “We don’t want Chinatowns in Sweden, we don’t want ‘Somali villages’ or Little Italy’s.”
The interview was a clear statement of the failure of multiculturalism, although, to be honest, the reality is that neither Chinese nor Italians are responsible for the gang shootings, rapes, and murders that are the Nordic country’s bread and butter. And, of course, neither the Chinese nor the Italians have anything to do with the application of Sharia law in the increasingly common “No Go” zones.
Many have interpreted the prime minister’s outburst of sincerity as a desperate attempt to “stop the far right” and try to reduce support for the Sweden Democrats’ anti-immigration measures. But the truth is that this is not the first time Andersson has acknowledged that the progressive policies of immigration have not worked.
In 2017, when she was Finance Minister, Andersson lamented her government’s decision to allow 180,000 immigrants to settle in Sweden during the migration crisis of 2015/16: “Integration is not working properly. It was not working before autumn 2015 either, but it is obvious to me that we cannot have a higher asylum intake than we are able to integrate. That is not good for the people who come here, and it is not good for society in general.”
Andersson’s latest statements prompted the departure from the party of Saida Hussein Moge, the Somali-born candidate for Gothenburg, who said that the Social Democrats have “become a more xenophobic party.” However, they are similar to the Minister for Integration and Migration, Anders Ygeman. They stated that Swedes want to limit the concentration of immigrants to the most problematic areas of cities.
However, despite this shift, according to a recent poll, only 16% of Swedes support the Social Democrats’ immigration policy and only 9% support the Moderate Party’s position. As expected, Sweden’s immigration policy has been a major source of concern. Unsurprisingly, the Sweden Democrats immigration policy is the most supported in Sweden, with 35%. In the same poll conducted in April, support was 26%.
Given these figures, the response of the Social Democrats has come as no surprise. Following Joe Biden’s lead, Minister Ygeman and Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said in a press conference on Friday that the Sweden Democrats are a “threat to the country’s security and foreign policy.”
“There is no doubt that the Sweden Democrats’ connections to Russia can pose a risk to Sweden’s security,” Ygeman said. For good measure, the Social Democrats are lying. SD supported Sweden’s entry into NATO, abandoning its neutrality stance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And as for their view of Putin’s Russia, this is what their MEP Charlie Weimers said in the European Parliament:
The Kremlin’s valuable idiots are historical to be found on the left. It saddens me that some on the right have become infatuated with Putin’s feigned conservatism. All conservatives should know that Putin is NOT a traditionalist stalwart standing up to the weak “woke” West. Putin has built a morally bankrupt system. Systematic bribery, corruption, murder, theft, lies, and now sending Russian youth to die while killing their Slavic brethren. Is Putin defending Christianity by using Chechen Islamist fanatics and Syrian mercenaries in Ukraine? Forcing 1.5 million people away from their homeland and separating families? Is that in line with “family values” and respect for the love of own home? And “love of neighbor”? Is the bombing of residential areas compatible with the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”? Wake up. The enemy of your enemies is not your friend. Imperialism is the antithesis of free nations.
Using Putin’s card against Sweden’s Democrats is entirely absurd. SD leader Jimmie Åkesson responded in an article to the ludicrous press conference by pointing out that the real danger to Sweden is the Social Democratic Party, a leftist, pro-mass immigration party: “We have seen similar rhetoric from other authoritarian and powerful parties around the world. They are simply trying to spread fear, lies, and conspiracy theories about the opposition because they are afraid of losing power.”
Polls show a technical tie between the left and right-wing blocs. The Social Democrats remain the leading political force on the left and are supported by the Greens, the Center, and the Left. In the right-wing bloc, the Sweden Democrats would take first place, followed by the Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals. So far, these parties have refused to form a coalition with the national conservatives. Still, if the polls are confirmed, and the Sweden Democrats get more than 20%, the other right-wing parties would have no choice but to seek a deal if they really want to get into government.
Álvaro Peñas es redactor de deliberatio.eu, colaborador de Disidentia, The European Conservative, El American y otros medios europeos. Analista internacional, especializado en Europa del Este, para el canal de televisión 7NN. Autor en SND editores // Writer at deliberatio.eu, contributor at Disidentia, The European Conservative, El American and other European media. International analyst, specialized in Eastern Europe, for the television channel 7NN. Author at SND editores.