WION Spotlight | Rising Might of Sweden’s Right

The electoral outcome in Sweden suggests that it may be better aligned with today’s “New India” on the “right” path. Gone is the Sweden for long regarded as a moral superpower, a model of the “Third Way” and neutral between East-West blocs but firmly on the side of democracy, tolerance and inclusiveness.

In fact, that Sweden of yore, identified with the Third World and known for thought leaders with their development focus on developing countries, has been vanishing gradually in the last two decades. The historic defeat of the Social Democrats, who presided over the Swedish state for decades after World War II, in the 1991 election, marked the rise of the Conservatives.

Conservative leaders, like Carl Bildt of the Moderate Party, who had long terms in government, did not deviate very much from the path of social democracy. Although the conservatives, or the centre-right (as they could be called then), were a force during their stints in government, the Social Democrat-led centre-left remained a powerful pole of politics till 2014.

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In the years since then, Sweden, like other parts of Europe, has seen the rise of a new aggressive right, which has been openly anti-immigrant and grown on the support of white supremacist fringe groups and racist elements. Paradoxically, in Scandinavia, the new right flaunts the word “Democrats” in its nomenclature even while its politics are the anti-thesis of democracy as known to Europe during the decades it saw all-round peace and development.

Given that history, Sweden’s sharp swing to the right in the just-concluded elections is a watershed moment.

The Moderates led by Ulf Kristersson, along with Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals have wrested a narrow but convincing victory, winning 176 of the 346-seat parliament against the Social Democrat-led centre-left’s 173 seats.

The emergence of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats has stoked fears of Sweden’s celebrated model of tolerance and inclusive politics coming apart amidst new uncertainties, economic concerns, social insecurity and political polarisation.

Kristerssson’s government is bound to be severely tested in a Sweden that of late has witnessed recurrent violence involving criminal gangs as well as immigrant groups. Sweden’s generous immigration policies, which were tightened in recent years including to overcome flaws in implementation, may become more restrictive to meet the expectations of those who voted for a “New Sweden”, which also wants to militarise itself as a member of NATO.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)