Amanda Billner and Johan Carlstrom
By Amanda Billner and Johan Carlstrom
Sweden’s lawmakers responded to a surge in voter support for the nation’s anti-immigration party by freezing it out of political influence.
Now, the democratic ramifications of that decision are being questioned as Europe grapples with fissures in its immigration policy after last week’s attacks on French magazine Charlie Hebdo fanned support for groups with xenophobic agendas.
The Sweden Democrats, a party with its roots in a movement called Keep Sweden Swedish and that targets cutting asylum immigration by 90 percent, will be largely shut out of political influence for the next eight years after the ruling Social Democrats and the opposition struck an accord last month. Prime Minister Stefan Loefven calls the party “neo-fascist” while all other groups in parliament refuse to negotiate with it.
Christopher Bickerton, a lecturer in politics at the University of Cambridge, says the strategy may weaken the democratic foundation Swedish society is built on. “If you change the rules when you don’t like the possible result, that’s very dangerous for democracy,” he said by phone. “I can’t find an example where it has worked successfully.” Voters in the largest Nordic economy have flocked to the Sweden Democrats. It won 13 percent in September elections, more than doubling its backing since 2010. That figure could swell as high as 20 percent, according to Anders Sannerstedt, a political scientist at Lund University who has studied the party for almost a decade.
Denying the party influence in parliament will probably just increase its following, Sannerstedt said. Support for the Sweden Democrats rose to 14.4 percent in a Jan. 10 Demoskop poll — the highest ever recorded by the pollster.
The Sweden Democrats will put forward a no-confidence vote against Loefven this week in response to the deal he struck with the opposition, Bjoern Soeder, party secretary, said by phone.
If the opposition doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity it had to topple the government, then “SD is now the only opposition party,” he said.
Soeder caused a stir last month, after saying minorities including Jews can’t be considered Swedes. He has since said his comments were misconstrued.
According to the Sweden Democrats, it’s not the party but Sweden’s immigration laws that are “extreme.” The nation of almost 10 million people has one of world’s most generous asylum policies, turning it into a haven for refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, ethnic tensions are bubbling in Sweden as riots disrupt suburbs outside its biggest cities with the highest immigration rates. This month, mosques around the country were damaged in suspected arson attacks.
While Soeder said he condemns the attacks, he’s urging other political parties to take note. He says his party can even play an important role in tempering extremism.
“If we weren’t there, maybe people would have been forced into extreme movements,” he said. “Now, there’s a democratic alternative for someone who’s unhappy with immigration policy. It’s good for democracy that we exist.”
He wants Sweden to demand more of the immigrants it lets in and to dismantle what he says is an “Arab nation” flourishing in the country’s biggest cities.
“There’s a certain Islamization of Swedish society,” he said. “If someone comes here and wants to be part of Swedish society, then they should also adjust to Swedish society.”
Juan Fernando, a 41-year-old immigrant from Spain’s Canary Islands who lives in Stockholm and works in tourism, says it’s justified to block the party from the legislative process because its agenda is anti-democratic.
“If you look at how they behave and their program, they don’t place everyone at the same level but they still want to be treated as an ordinary political party,” he said. “It’s right to exclude them.”
Rather than changing the rules, the mainstream parties should try to engage with those who support the Sweden Democrats or risk disenfranchising a large chunk of voters, said Bickerton at Cambridge University.
History shows that “once these parties get a foothold in power they moderate their policies,” he said.
WP-BLOOMBERG
By Amanda Billner and Johan Carlstrom
Sweden’s lawmakers responded to a surge in voter support for the nation’s anti-immigration party by freezing it out of political influence.
Now, the democratic ramifications of that decision are being questioned as Europe grapples with fissures in its immigration policy after last week’s attacks on French magazine Charlie Hebdo fanned support for groups with xenophobic agendas.
The Sweden Democrats, a party with its roots in a movement called Keep Sweden Swedish and that targets cutting asylum immigration by 90 percent, will be largely shut out of political influence for the next eight years after the ruling Social Democrats and the opposition struck an accord last month. Prime Minister Stefan Loefven calls the party “neo-fascist” while all other groups in parliament refuse to negotiate with it.
Christopher Bickerton, a lecturer in politics at the University of Cambridge, says the strategy may weaken the democratic foundation Swedish society is built on. “If you change the rules when you don’t like the possible result, that’s very dangerous for democracy,” he said by phone. “I can’t find an example where it has worked successfully.” Voters in the largest Nordic economy have flocked to the Sweden Democrats. It won 13 percent in September elections, more than doubling its backing since 2010. That figure could swell as high as 20 percent, according to Anders Sannerstedt, a political scientist at Lund University who has studied the party for almost a decade.
Denying the party influence in parliament will probably just increase its following, Sannerstedt said. Support for the Sweden Democrats rose to 14.4 percent in a Jan. 10 Demoskop poll — the highest ever recorded by the pollster.
The Sweden Democrats will put forward a no-confidence vote against Loefven this week in response to the deal he struck with the opposition, Bjoern Soeder, party secretary, said by phone.
If the opposition doesn’t take advantage of the opportunity it had to topple the government, then “SD is now the only opposition party,” he said.
Soeder caused a stir last month, after saying minorities including Jews can’t be considered Swedes. He has since said his comments were misconstrued.
According to the Sweden Democrats, it’s not the party but Sweden’s immigration laws that are “extreme.” The nation of almost 10 million people has one of world’s most generous asylum policies, turning it into a haven for refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq. Meanwhile, ethnic tensions are bubbling in Sweden as riots disrupt suburbs outside its biggest cities with the highest immigration rates. This month, mosques around the country were damaged in suspected arson attacks.
While Soeder said he condemns the attacks, he’s urging other political parties to take note. He says his party can even play an important role in tempering extremism.
“If we weren’t there, maybe people would have been forced into extreme movements,” he said. “Now, there’s a democratic alternative for someone who’s unhappy with immigration policy. It’s good for democracy that we exist.”
He wants Sweden to demand more of the immigrants it lets in and to dismantle what he says is an “Arab nation” flourishing in the country’s biggest cities.
“There’s a certain Islamization of Swedish society,” he said. “If someone comes here and wants to be part of Swedish society, then they should also adjust to Swedish society.”
Juan Fernando, a 41-year-old immigrant from Spain’s Canary Islands who lives in Stockholm and works in tourism, says it’s justified to block the party from the legislative process because its agenda is anti-democratic.
“If you look at how they behave and their program, they don’t place everyone at the same level but they still want to be treated as an ordinary political party,” he said. “It’s right to exclude them.”
Rather than changing the rules, the mainstream parties should try to engage with those who support the Sweden Democrats or risk disenfranchising a large chunk of voters, said Bickerton at Cambridge University.
History shows that “once these parties get a foothold in power they moderate their policies,” he said.
WP-BLOOMBERG
