By Ilgin Karlidag
ANKARA
Sweden’s left-leaning Social Democrats may have garnered more than 30 percent of the votes in the election on Sunday night, but the far-right Sweden Democrats have become the ‘kingmakers’ in Swedish politics, according to its leader Jimmie Akesson.
As none of the other parties in the Swedish government have a majority, the Sweden Democrats, SD, which won 49 seats in the parliament, can decide which party gets decisive power. This makes the Swedish Democrats, who have more than doubled their support since 2010, not only the third largest party, but also one of the most powerful ones in the Swedish government.
‘’We have more than doubled [our support] since the last elections and this is fantastic,’’ SD leader Jimmie Akesson said. ‘’We are now the absolute kingmakers.’’
Before changing its name to Sweden Democrats, the SD was originally a nationalist movement called BSS meaning 'Keep Sweden Swedish' created by Leif Ericsson in 1979. Ericsson’s successor as party leader, from 1989 to 1995, was Anders Klarstrom, a former member of a Swedish neo-fascist political party called NRP, founded in 1956.
Annika Hamrud, an author and expert on the Sweden Democrats, told Anadolu Agency that the party has reformed itself and removed its nationalist and Nazi ties over the years, resulting in increased votes and public support.
According to Valu, Sweden’s public broadcast’s exit poll, almost one third of SD voters previously supported the center-right Moderates party. Twenty-nine percent of Sweden Democrats voters on Sunday’s election had voted for the Moderates in 2010.
The government under former Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and the Moderates, who won 23 percent on Sunday night, has not only cut corporate and income taxes ever since coming to power but also cut taxes on wealth and reduced welfare benefits. Critics say these policies have affected the government-funded health care system and education.
“The Moderate Party cut taxes to create more jobs by making it easier for companies to hire more people,” said Sarah Nader, a foreign-origin Swedish citizen and student at Uppsala University. “But there are still concerns as to how this affects health, and care of the elderly and retirement,” she said.
Experts claim that one of the reasons behind SD’s increased popularity is its stance against immigration in Sweden, which expects 80,000 asylum seekers in 2014, according to the migration board. SD vows heavy cuts to immigration, claiming this would save the Swedish government 151 billion Swedish kronor (US$21.9 billion) within four years.
"By reforming itself and mobilizing public opinion against immigration, the SD has made it possible for people who are anti-racism to vote for them," says Andreas Johansson Heino, a political scientist and expert on integration at Gothenburg University.
Sweden Democrats’ goal is also to assimilate foreigners to Swedish culture, according to the party program.
"Foreigners with the intention of staying in the country shall adapt to the Swedish way of living,’’ the program says.
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