In the historic bastion of social democracy in Europe, Sweden, the anti-immigration nationalist party has become the leading right-wing party. The Sweden Democrats collected 21% of the votes in the last legislative elections of 2022, and have thus become the essential parliamentary ally of the current government, a right-wing coalition which threatens to fall without their support. Favored by the working classes and young people, this party with neo-Nazi origins, considered out of reach only ten years ago, is now at the center of Swedish politics.
It was in Scania, in the fertile plains of the south of the country, that the Sweden Democrats (SD) experienced their first successes in the early 1990s. And it was there, in Trelleborg, a port town of 45,000 residents, that the country’s first far-right mayor was elected last April, after several years of governance in coalition with liberal right parties.
Mattias Andersson, a jovial 40-year-old man with a pointed beard, slicked back hair and tattooed wrists, is at home, in the building that houses the City Hall. “ You know… I was a young socialist! » he breathes, smiling. “ I come from an old working-class family. My parents were social democrats, my grandparents too. But I no longer found myself in the questions that were raised. We were no longer talking about Swedish workers, but about LGBTQ people. And when they said, “let’s open the borders to immigrants,” that didn’t seem very clever to me. »
The weakened historic party
The anti-immigrant discourse hit home in this region whose capital, Malmö, the third largest city in the country, which is located 30 minutes from here, has welcomed a large number of refugees. “ In 2015, when there was the migration crisis and the Swedish borders were wide open, we saw thousands of migrants disembark at the port of Trelleborg and in Malmö. Today’s immigrants, Muslims, do not work, they receive social assistance and form parallel societies, with their own Sharia police. This situation brought people closer to our party. We need a new policy. This is how we kicked the socialists off their pedestal. They were the biggest party for 99 years, they were going to celebrate their centenary in 2018, and here we are! » rejoices Mattias Anderson.
In Trelleborg, and in Sweden, the historic center-left party remains the leading political force with 30% of voters. But he is weakened. With the outsourcing of industrial jobs and the rise of SD, the workers’ vote gradually turned away from the social democratic party. In 2022, a year before the legislative elections, the socialist Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, seeing the tide turn, decided to adopt a very tough tone on immigration.
Suspicion of “troll factory”
“ Too late ! We are not fools ! » writes Milton Kleimann, a 24-year-old young man with red sideburns, who will vote SD in the next European elections. “ Today, socialists and the right all agree with SD’s migration policies even though they refused to debate with them for decades » he notes. Like many young people of his generation, this employee of a local bakery formed his opinion on the internet. Very present on social networks, the Sweden Democrats have even constituted a “ troll factory ” For “ manipulate the opinion of young voters », according to an investigation by the investigative show Kalla Fakta, published on May 14. More than 23 fake profiles are secretly run by the SD communications team, sharing disinformation, slanderous videos and racist clips.
The party leader, Jimmie Åkesson, describes his accounts “ humorous » and considers that these revelations are part “ of a gigantic domestic influence operation on the part of the left and liberal establishment “. Originally from a small coastal town two hours’ drive east of Trelleborg, Jimmie Åkesson took over as leader of the Sweden Democrats in 2005. He was 26 years old at the time. Today, this 44-year-old tribune with transparent glasses is credited with having succeeded in a strategy of demonizing the party. If Islam is still seen as a threat to Swedish secularism, neo-Nazi elements and overtly racist personalities have been ruled out.
The ruling coalition dependent on the SD
“ They are opportunists » says Jonathan Leman, researcher at the anti-racist magazine Expo, which closely follows the resurgence of far-right ideas in Sweden. “ It’s true, the Sweden Democrats put water in their wine, when they needed to. But now that they have the political space to move further right, they are doing so “. He observes that since the far right entered Parliament in 2010, with the election of Jimmie Åkesson as MP, “ neo-Nazi, fascist and ethno-racial organizations find that their ideas – considered too extremist – have become normalized. They also say that they have an easier time recruiting into their ranks. For these small groups, the strategy is to influence the SD, so that it becomes right-wing. The radical far right uses them as a Trojan horse, since they are now frequentable in the political landscape “.
After the autumn 2023 legislative elections, the revolution that had been brewing arrived: the Sweden Democrats party officially became the main parliamentary ally of the right-wing coalition, led by conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The government made up of Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals is therefore tied hand and foot, since without the support of the extreme right, it does not have a majority.