The Swedish Democrats became the third biggest political party in the country by gaining 17 percent of total votes. For “boring Sweden” this represents a similar shock than Sander’s victory would be in the United States two years ago.
The socialists won the elections, but they don’t have much reason to celebrate. The anti-immigrant populists’ success creates a stalemate situation. The world media was competing in adding extremist attributes to the Swedish Democrats. The leftist Guardian claimed they are far right, Germans were using the term “rightist populists.” The truth is somewhere in the middle. Despite the neo-Nazi roots the current leader, the charismatic 39 year old Jimmie Akesson is trying to dispose of the racist remarks. The Swedish Democrats are not throwing bricks at Muslim mothers, and don’t use totalitarian symbols. Swedish politics in this aspect is just as boring as in the last hundred years.
What the success of the “extremists” means for Sweden? It means a zero chance to have a stable government, neither of the sides has majority in parliament and the big coalitions have no tradition in the country.
