The chairman of the Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Åkesson, barked at the current government in his Almedalen speech. The bourgeois camp has warmed to cooperation with the party.
VISBY – Social Democrats and Magdalena Andersson do not love Sweden, chairman of the Sweden Democrats Jimmie Åkesson said in his speech in Almedalen park. Sweden’s annual political event is drawing to a close.
According to Åkesson, the social democrats’ eight-year rule has brought nothing but misery to the country: Sweden is divided, people are shot in the streets, police are thrown with stones, and citizens have to quit their jobs because they can’t afford to drive there.
The love speech referred to Prime Minister Andersson’s Almedalen speech on Sunday, where he extolled his love for Sweden and everything Swedish, such as nature, the labor market model, everyman’s rights and barbecue tips.
– Sweden is not doing well. Sweden has not been doing well for a long time, Åkesson gloomily said.
According to Åkesson, the rise in prices can partly be blamed on Putin’s attack on Ukraine.
– But the fact that the price of diesel in Sweden is among the highest in the world does not depend on the events of the surrounding world. It is due to government policy.
The Minister of Justice also got his share of barks Morgan Johanssonwhich, according to Åkesson, has done nothing to curb gang crime.
Regarding immigration policy, Åkesson stated that you can move to Sweden from elsewhere as long as you accept that you have come to another country and adapt to life in its ways and not to the rules of your former home country. If you come to the country with the intention of committing crimes or living on Swedish tax money, you are not welcome.
Bourgeois parties need Sweden Democrats
The position of the Sweden Democrats has improved from election to election. In the next parliamentary elections in September, the support may not increase significantly from the previous election’s 17.5 percent, but the party can strengthen its position as a necessary support party for the right.
The reception of bourgeois parties is even starting to be warm. Chairman of the Swedish Confederation Ulf Kristersson praised the Sweden Democrats’ immigration policy in his own speech, when just four years ago it was a clear distinguishing factor. The Christian Democrats also praised the party.
Kristersson counts the Sweden Democrats into a common bourgeois front, which includes the Christian Democrats and the Liberal Party in addition to the coalition. Kristersson does not promise the Sweden Democrats a seat on the board, because “they lack experience in cooperation.”
The bourgeois camp needs the Sweden Democrats to stop sniping in the opposition.
In support surveys, the Social Democrats are clearly in the lead, second is the coalition and third is the Sweden Democrats. No party can get a majority on its own, partners are needed.
Neo-Nazi roots are not forgotten
Writer-journalist Anna-Lena Lodenius has just published the book Svart på vit om sverigedemokraterna.
– They definitely want to join the government, Lodenius says of the Sweden Democrats.
On the other hand, risks are assessed in the party. In Finland, the support of basic Finns fell in the government, and the party split in two. In Norway, the Progressive Party left the government partly because its support collapsed.
Voters do not reward populist parties for making compromises. The Danish People’s Party, on the other hand, has gained a strong influence in the country without government responsibility.
The Sweden Democrats have influence, especially in municipal politics.
Bourgeois parties have been getting closer to the Sweden Democrats since Sweden’s immigration policy tightened in 2015. In immigration policy, others can still compromise.
According to Lodenius, the Sweden Democrats don’t want integration, but fusion. If you are not ready to adapt to the customs of the country, you should go home.
Åkesson has led the party for 17 years. According to Lodenius, power in the party is concentrated in a small circle.
The constant reminder of the party’s neo-Nazi roots and the rejection of cooperation based on that annoys the party’s leadership.
– They have to work to erase the past. The Sweden Democrats have to be precise in their appearances in Sweden these days. In Finland, we are more permissive when it comes to what can be said.
For the Sweden Democrats, immigration issues mark the entire politics, for the other populist parties in the Nordic countries they have come on board later. For example, Danish and Norwegian parties started by opposing taxes and a large role for the state; The Basic Finns were a rural party.