EP57: Sweden Democrats

Sweden Democrats are the first far-right party in Sweden’s parliament. Unlike Britain's UKIP or Spain's Vox, both of which split off from mainstream conservative parties, the Sweden Democrats’ origins in fascism and the fringes of Swedish political thinking is well-documented. 

First entering parliament in 2010, Sweden Democrats, led by the bespectacled Jimmie Akesson, now support a right-wing government propelled to power after many years of riots and shootings in the country’s cities. The party has increased its vote share at every election since the 1990s, something which has coincided, and in part been caused by, an increase in mass immigration, especially Islamic immigration. 

The Sweden that emerges from the conversation today is plagued by political extremism and anxiety. Where does this leave Sweden’s reputation for tolerance and liberalism? Was this merely an illusion? Did it ever exist in the first place? This is the central theme of today’s podcast.

My guest today is the journalist Anders Lindberg, who is political editor-in-chief of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, or Evening Paper. As well as the Sweden Democrats, we discuss Sweden’s approach to handling the 2015 migrant crisis, the country’s welfare model, and whether Sweden will see a liberal approach to immigration again.