During the spring, many schools held EU school elections and the big winners were SD and M.
Dylan Al Sofi is one of the students who voted, and he thinks SD won votes through snuff.
– When they heard that SD is talking about the EU not being allowed to tamper with our snuff, everyone liked that proposal, he says.
A total of 369 schools organized an EU school election this spring, and of all the parties, the Sweden Democrats received the most votes. Then came the Moderates. The Social Democrats, who received the most votes in the real election, only came third in the school election.
One of the schools that held EU school selection is Klara Teoretiska Gymnasium in Malmö, where Dylan Al Sofi is a student.
– There are a lot of young people these days who smoke snuff, so I think that when they heard that SD was talking about the EU not being allowed to tamper with our snuff, everyone liked that proposal, he says.
“You take something for fun”
Rahul Iyer, also a student at the school, has another theory as to why SD has become so popular among the young.
– In the school choice, you don’t think about it as much, you just take something also for fun. I have heard many say, I will vote for SD just to vote for SD. Because you still know what they think and think, says Rahul Iyer.
157,000 students had the opportunity to participate in the EU school election, and 55 percent took the chance. This is an increase since the last election.
SD active on social media
And the fact that SD reached so many people, Ann-Cathrine Jungar, docent in political science at Södertörn University, believes has to do with their tactics to reach young voters.
– SD has, above all, been very active on social media and I think it is an important platform to reach young people. And especially being on Tiktok. Radical right-wing parties are generally very skilled with social media, says Ann-Cathrine Jungar.
But if this says anything about future election results, she’s not entirely sure.
– I think you should take it with a pinch of salt. We know that today’s voters change parties more often. So that you vote for the Sweden Democrats or the Moderates or some other party when you go to school does not mean that you do it your whole life, she says.