In an expected but still stunning election performance on Sunday, the Sweden Democrats, or SD, party won just under 18 percent of the popular vote and increased its ranks in Sweden’s parliament by one-third. The result is that neither the governing Left nor the opposition Alliance coalition can form a government without either including them or crossing party lines to form a grand coalition with one another.
Swedes are. it turns out, receptive to controlling what they perceive as excessive immigration. The key for SD was to sell a responsive message in a more welcoming way. And under the leadership of Jimmie Akesson; a young, charismatic career politician, the party has done just that. The SD has moved from the far-right to the populist right, welcoming ethnic minorities as members and as candidates. Akesson deserves credit for this development. As leader of the party for 13 years, since he was just 26 years old, he has worked relentlessly to purge racist elements from SD ranks.
While the SD’s election victory won’t allow it to enter power (the major parties have ruled out dealing with the SD), Akesson now has great influence over policy deliberations and a means to destabilize the next ruling government should the major opposition party seek a no-confidence vote.
That said, there are two broader takeaways from the SD’s performance.
First, it’s not such a good idea for politicians to insult those who are legitimately concerned about real issues. As these parliamentary results prove, many Swedes are concerned over the social challenges that mass immigration has brought. Instead of addressing these concerns with urgency and practical action, the other major political parties have attacked the SD as the home of hysterical, racist idiots. Such scorn flies in the face of what many voters see and believe. Consider, for example, the statistics showing that 58 percent of those convicted of rape and attempted rape over the past five years have been foreign born. Math cannot be racist.
Many Swedes also fear that their traditional social welfare model: of hard work alongside a high provision of social care, is at risk from migrants who are less interested in joining the social contract. Seeing no alternative political outlet to address their concerns, and disgusted at being called racist, more and more voters have flocked to Akesson’s waiting embrace.
But the SD’s win also sends a broader message to the European Union establishment. After all, the SD’s rise is just another electoral repudiation of the E.U. establishment narrative of supranational big government. Having openly rejected the concerns many Europeans have about borderless societies and social integration, the E.U. establishment faces a dramatic rise of populists across Europe. In Austria, a far-right party (and Putin favorite) sits in government. In France, the National Rally (formerly National Front) party continues to find widespread popularity. In Germany, the AfD is upping its challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkel, as the center-left SPD continues wallowing in self pity. In Hungary, the xenophobic Viktor Orbán is a popular Prime Minister. In Italy, a populist anti-immigration party now controls immigration policy. In the Netherlands, the Islamophobic Geert Wilders continues to lead the main opposition party.
In short, European right-wing populist or far-right movements are trending upwards. What Europe’s mainstream leaders need to understand is that no amount of establishment scorn or insults will contain them – only policy action and serious solutions can do the job.
