'Anti-immigration Sentiment Stirs' Far-Right Surge... Sweden Returns to Conservative Government After 8 Years

Due to increased immigration, the proportion of foreigners rises to 20%... 'One gun incident per day' occurs

Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party and the likely next Prime Minister of Sweden (left), and Jimmie ?kesson, leader of the Sweden Democrats who played the biggest role in the emergence of a conservative government after 8 years, during a TV debate on the 9th (local time).
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] ‘Make Sweden Great Again.’

With the surge of Sweden’s far-right party, the Sweden Democrats, which directly borrowed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan, Sweden has seen the return of a conservative government after eight years. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie ?kesson declared on social media (SNS) that they would "rebuild security, welfare, and integration."

According to the Associated Press on the 14th (local time), Magdalena Andersson, Prime Minister of the ruling Social Democrats (SAP), acknowledged defeat in the general election and announced her intention to resign. With nearly all votes counted from the general election held on the 11th, the conservative alliance including the Sweden Democrats secured a majority with 176 out of 349 seats. The progressive alliance, including the Social Democrats, is expected to hold 173 seats.

This election broke the long-standing pattern since the 1979 general election of the Social Democrats ranking first and the Centre Party second. Although the Social Democrats maintained first place, the Sweden Democrats pushed the Centre Party to third place in the parliament and became the largest party in the conservative bloc.

The Sweden Democrats targeted conservative voters by emphasizing anti-immigration policies and the deportation of foreign criminals.

BBC and The New York Times (NYT) analyzed that the rapid increase in gun-related incidents influenced the Swedish general election.

The NYT reported that 20 years ago, foreigners made up 10% of Sweden’s population, but now it is close to 20%. It added that murders related to criminal organizations in immigrant communities have increased, and recently the Swedish public perceives the rise in crime as linked to immigration. Jennifer Fitzgerald, a political science professor at the University of Colorado who studies Sweden’s far-right forces, explained, "Sweden shows one of the highest levels among European countries in accepting diversity, including immigration and asylum support."

Since 2010, gun-related incidents have sharply increased in Sweden. According to the Swedish police, 273 gun-related incidents have been reported so far this year, and if the current trend continues, it is expected to surpass the record high of 379 incidents in 2020.

Over the past decade, Sweden has accepted 500,000 immigrants, with recent increases from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia, according to the NYT. Swedish immigration statistics show that among 11,425 immigration applicants last year, Afghans were the largest group with 1,488 applicants. In 2015, when a total of 162,877 immigration applications were submitted, Syrians numbered 51,338.

In a past debate, Sweden Democrats leader ?kesson claimed, "Muslim immigration is the greatest external threat to Sweden since World War II."

Although the Sweden Democrats recorded the highest vote share among conservative parties and brought about a right-wing government, the next conservative prime minister is expected to be Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Centre Party. Because the Sweden Democrats have as many voters who strongly oppose them as they have supporters, it may be advantageous for social integration if the prime minister comes from the Centre Party.

Kristersson previously stated that the Centre Party would never cooperate with the Sweden Democrats. However, after the 2018 general election, when the Sweden Democrats solidified their position as the third-largest party in parliament, the Centre Party eventually allied with them. Attention is focused on the future actions of Kristersson, a center-right leader who is expected to become prime minister with the support of far-right forces.

In Italy, which will hold general elections on the 25th, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy and a strong candidate for the country’s first female prime minister, is advocating strict immigration controls. Meloni argues that instead of blocking refugee boats from docking in Italy, the departure of refugee boats should be stopped altogether by sealing off the North African coasts such as Libya.

The economic turmoil lasting more than a decade after the 2008 global financial crisis, compounded by severe inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine war this year, has fueled anti-immigration sentiments that claim immigrants take jobs and drain national welfare finances, shaking the political landscape across Europe.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.