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Sweden Democrats could garner 16-25% of the vote share
Swedes voted in legislative elections on Sunday with a far-right surge expected if voters punish traditional parties over their failure to address immigration concerns.
Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has called the election a “referendum on the future of the welfare state” but the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) have presented it as vote on immigrants and their integration, after Sweden took in almost 4,00,000 asylum seekers since 2012. Opinion polls suggest SD could garner between 16% and 25% of the vote, making it one of the biggest parties and rendering it almost impossible to predict the make-up of the next government. The party, with roots in the neo-Nazi movement, has said the arrival of asylum seekers is a threat to Swedish culture and claimed they put a strain on the country’s generous welfare state.
‘It’s about decency’
As he cast his ballot in Stockholm on Sunday, Mr. Löfven urged Swedes not to vote for the “racist party”. “It’s … about decency, about a decent democracy. And the Social Democrats and a Social Democratic-led government is a guarantee for not letting the Sweden Democrats extremist party, racist party, get any influence in the government.” The Social Democrats, traditionally the biggest party and who have led a minority government with the Greens, have lost support on both the left and the right and are tipped to post their lowest score since 1911. Up to 20% of the 7.5 million eligible voters were undecided in the final days before the vote, according to pollsters.
‘No racists’
In southern Sweden, an SD stronghold, party leader Jimmie Akesson campaigned among throngs of supporters late Saturday as detractors booed him and shouted “No racists on our streets!”
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/far-right-party-expected-to-win-big-as-sweden-votes/article24911640.ece
