Historically on the left, is the country leaning towards the far right?

The Swedes and Swedes They made their voices heard Sunday during the legislative elections. According to the first results when exiting the polls, which will be Definitively confirmed on Wednesdaythe far right, embodied here Sweden’s Democrats (DS), it could take an unprecedented place in the Swedish political spectrum. Based on votes counted on Monday afternoon that covered nearly 95% of polling stations, the anti-immigration party would collect 20.6%. Finally, the right-wing bloc (SD, Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals) would receive 49.7% of the vote and the left-wing bloc (Social Democrats, Left Party, Green Party, Center Party) would gather 48.8%.

But what raised the flies (national) Swedish ? What is this DS, National Assembly With Scandinavian sauce? And when did Sweden, so far envied for its left-wing socio-economic model, turn to the right, or even to the extreme right? 20 minutes This political shift measures, far from being anecdotal because it seems to spread throughout Scandinavian countries.

What is the Swedish Democrats?

“Originally, the Sweden Democrats was a populist right-wing formation, which resulted from a far-right movement founded in 1988,” she states. 20 minutes Cyril Colette, a Nordic specialist and former researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Relations. Originally, the Sweden Democrats (DS) was called the “Bevara Sverige Svenskt” (they mean “Let’s keep Sweden Swedish”) and had many neo-Nazi militants inside. However, “the DS remained on the fringes of Swedish politics in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s,” Cyril Collette explains. It was in the 2000s, with its president joining Jimmy Okeson, 43 years, that the party will begin to normalize the political spectrum. »

Today, with a provisional result of 20.7%, it is impossible to ignore this star in Swedish opinion polls. But what is he claiming? condemn immigrationSkepticism of Europe and the strengthening of the social state, “the party has themes quite classic in its kind.” On the ideological level, Jimmy Okesson, its leader since 2005, publicly condemns multiculturalism and directly promotes “indigenous Swedes”.

Why is the penetration of a historical national party in Sweden?

“The Swedish Democratic Party has been growing steadily since 2010,” says the former researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Relations. Although it was on the sidelines before, it now reached important layers of Swedish power. » more than the importance of the party Sweden’s Democrats It is neither more nor less than the second political force of the country. The ultra-conservative party could, as such, demand an alliance with the country’s traditional right “and this is historic,” says Cyril Colette. So far, DS has many MPs in place that cannot be excluded from the political scene. And this is also historic, in a fairly well-established country on the left, adds the expert.

In a country that is getting hotter over an issue home securitySuburbs Spread of Islamophobia More generally in relation to immigration, “The promise of a welfare state that allows individuals to free themselves from their societies is gaining more and more followers.” This would explain how the party went from 4% of the vote in 2010 to more than 20% in 2022.

Thus, if the results are confirmed on Wednesday, the left will leave power after eight years at the helm. With a provisional result of 20.6%, the party will set a new record and become the first right-wing but also the second party in Sweden. And it “smells good,” Jimmie Åkesson on Sunday fired in front of his troops in a merger at his campaign headquarters.

Is the rise of the far right common in all countries of the North?

The specialist in the Nordic countries answers frankly “absolutely”. Sweden has thus far served as an exception in a Scandinavian landscape that is still firmly rooted in the right. » Since 2010The Finland and the Norway Watch conservative and populist parties come to the fore: the party of Finns with populist and nationalist leanings or the Progress Party (Norway), both liberal and conservative.

Remember, however, that last April, A series of violent riots It could have been under the radar. The Sweden It was a scene violent confrontations Between law enforcement and rioters. the reason ? The demonstrators were protesting against a gathering of the anti-immigration and anti-Islam group called “The Hard Line”. [«Stram Kurs »]led by danish swedish Rasmus Balludan. The latter planned to start a “tour” in Sweden on Thursday targeting neighborhoods with a large Muslim population to burn the Koran there.

However, on Sunday, the last bastion of the polls could have been occupied? “With the legislative elections, a new step has been taken in Sweden, which Cyril Collette abounds in. In Sweden certainly, but also as in all Nordic countries.”