Having been persistently avoided by Sweden’s mainstream parties in the past, it is getting harder to ignore the Sweden Democrats (SD), now the country’s third-largest party with 49 representatives in parliament. Against a backdrop of Islamic State terror attacks and the refugee crisis, the nationalist party has gained support across the country for their asylum policy, arguing that Sweden’s housing shortages and unemployment need to be prioritised. At the same time more people are volunteering and offering to help refugees, as asylum continues to be a polarising issue among the Swedish population.
Anti-fascist groups have warned that the far-right is rapidly gaining political legitimacy across Europe. An opinion poll conducted after the Paris attacks by polling firm Sifo found the SD would receive 17.6% of the public vote, marking a 4.6 point rise in support since the 2014 elections. The recent Sweden school attack is also being treated as a racist hate crime by the police. With a population of less than 10 million, Sweden has taken more refugees per capita than any other European country, and was the first in Europe to offer permanent citizenship to refugees from Syria. But the Swedish government last week took the exceptional step of introducing border checks.
In Sweden’s current tense political climate, we’d like to hear from anyone living in the country. With support for the SD party growing, how has the current mood changed where you live? What are your views on the continued rise of SD’s popularity among the country’s voters? Are there other issues affecting people living in Sweden the government should focus on you believe are being overlooked? Share your views and experiences of living in Sweden, and we will feature the most interesting contributions on the site.