Rise of party with neo-nazi past has Sweden facing hung parliament
A SWEDISH nationalist party with neonazi roots made major gains in elections yesterday, robbing the mainstream centrist parties of a majority and pushing the country towards a hung parliament.
Sweden Democrats, which has blamed a recent surge in rapes, sex attacks and riots on immigrants, was last night set to secure 18 per cent of the vote.
The ruling centre-left Social Democrats were in the lead with 28 per cent of the vote, down from 31 per cent in the 2014 election and its lowest score in decades.
The centre-right Moderates scored just 19 per cent.
Stefan Lofven, the Swedish prime minister, will have heaved a sigh of relief at the result for the Sweden Democrats, which according to earlier polls could have reached first place.
The hard-right party, led by 39-yearold Jimmie Akesson, has called for a two-year ban on asylum seekers and wants to ban the niqab, or face veil.
Sweden Democrats also claim immigrants put undue pressure on the country’s welfare state, and are diluting Swedish culture and values.
If they are confirmed as the largest party, the Social Democrats are likely to form a coalition with the pro-refugee Left Party and the Green party.
The centre-right bloc of parties, known as the Alliance, could unseat Mr Lofven if they join forces with the Sweden Democrats – but they have so far refused.
Sweden has taken in more refugees per capita than any other country in Europe, a statistic frequently deployed by the Sweden Democrats on the campaign trail as they called for a border shutdown.
As Mr Lofven cast his ballot in Stockholm yesterday, he urged Swedes not to vote for the “racist party”. He said: “It’s about decency, about a decent democracy. The Social Democrats and a Social Democratic-led government is a guarantee for not letting the Sweden Democrats extremist party, racist party, get any influence in the government.” At the Sweden Democrats’ last rally before polls opened, Mr Akesson accused the socially liberal prime minister of prioritising the needs of asylum seekers over Swedish citizens: “Sweden needs breathing space. We need tight, responsible immigration policies.”
Some voters in Stockholm, a liberal stronghold, said the Sweden Democrats were a welcome shake-up to mainstream politics as they were not afraid to attack immigration policy.
“They should be taken seriously. They have raised serious issues, not just immigration but healthcare too,” 46-year-old Henrik, a doctor, told AFP.
“We need to close the borders. It’s what people want – even the Moderates and the Social Democrats. But they refuse to talk about it as an option, and we do,” Peter Wallmark, chairman of the Sweden Democrats Stockholm division, told The Daily Telegraph.
“I think we could form a coalition with the Moderates. They won’t admit that yet though. There is a serious problem with Islamic fundamentalists, and we need to address that.”