Swedish elections - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

Europe’s migration crisis may swing Sweden to the right

Malcolm Brabant — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 20:26:38 +0000

Like many European countries affected by an influx of Syrian migrants and refugees, immigration policy has become central to Sweden’s election. And after more than a half-century of soft, center-left policies there, analysts predict that voters on Sunday will elect anti-immigration candidates to the country’s highest governing body. NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

Malcolm Brabant:

More than any other election in recent history, this is a battle for Sweden’s soul. Often idealized as a model society, Sweden is now divided between those who want it to remain generous, egalitarian and open to foreigners and others who vigorously oppose immigration and multi culturalism. Gustav Kasselstrand heads one of the most extreme right wing parties that advocates mass deportations
Gustav Kasselstrand:

We have the Swedes on our side. And with our healthy political ideas, we are starting a new phase, a renaissance in Sweden.
Malcolm Brabant:

For one face in the crowd, this election has become personal. He’s a 23 year old refugee from the Syrian city of Homs. Abed Allmugharbel left Syria when he was 17 before he could finish his high school education. In September 2015, we met Abed at this mosque in Izmir on the Turkish coast, where hundreds gathered before taking rubber dinghies to the Greek islands en route to Northern Europe.
Abed Allmugharbel:

I’m planning to go to Sweden. If I study there, I’m willing to give back to Europe what they gave me. They gave me shelter, I give them back my whole energy, to build their country.’
Malcolm Brabant:

Abed managed to reach Sweden before the refugee trail to Northern Europe was closed. Since then he has almost finished his high school education. And did so in Swedish. He has two jobs to pay for his tuition fees. He does not receive welfare benefits. He hopes to study psychology at university but fears the rise of the right will thwart his ambitions.

The anti immigrant parties are try to sell to the people that the Muslims which are the majority of the immigrants who have sought asylum in Sweden that they are trying to invade the country that the Muslims have organised and are trying to invade the country, that Swedish traditional culture is under attack which is completely false not true

The party Abed was protesting against may only be on the fringes of the campaign. But what’s significant is that until recently supporters of the so called Alt Right, like Lot-ten Peterson were shy about airing their opinions. Now, being anti immigration is no longer taboo.
Lotten Peterson:

Oh it costs a lot because they don’t work very much. I mean they have a very low percentage in work if you compare it to Swedes. The Swedes pay the taxes. And welfare is free for everybody and the left who have been screaming here say that no people is illegal. I mean what kind of language is that.
Malcolm Brabant:

At the peak of the European crisis, 200,000 refugees and migrants made it to Sweden, encouraged by the government’s offer of sanctuary for Syrians.
Immigration official:

‘398,399, very big family.’
Malcolm Brabant:

It wasn’t just Syrians who came. There were asylum seekers from across the developing world, lured by the prospect of subsidized housing and generous welfare benefits. Malmo in the south was a particular magnet. Sweden hoped other European countries would follow its example. The then Migration Minister Morgan Johansson was frustrated that many EU partners closed their borders instead.
Malcolm Brabant:

What do you say to those people who think your immigration policy, your open door policy is naive.
Morgan Johansson:

Just turn on your television set and see for yourself what these people are fleeing from.
Malcolm Brabant:

As Sweden found itself overwhelmed by the influx, it sealed its formerly open border with Denmark to the south, to try to stem the flow. It was like closing the stable door after the horse had bolted, say those on the right, like the Alternative for Sweden’s Gustav Kasselstrand.
Gustav Kasselstrand:

The politicians have forced policy upon us, with mass immigration that we have never ever voted for, never ever supported.
Malcolm Brabant:

Prime Minister Stefan Loven presided over the influx, which has strained the hallowed welfare system. And changed Sweden to the point where one in four of the population now comes from a foreign background. His center left social democrat party advocates high taxation to pay for the cradle to grave safety net.
Stefan Loven:

If we can continue four more years, at least four more years, we will continue to invest in the Swedish welfare system and that is what people need now. We need to build solidarity and trust between the citizens of Sweden and that’s what we want to do.
Malcolm Brabant:

This is a Social Democrat campaign video.
Social Democrat campaign video:

What would I like? I’d like a society where security comes before tax cuts and we can hire more people in the medical sector so everybody gets the help they need in time.That the police get more colleagues and better conditions.’
Stefan Loven:

This is a referendum on the Swedish welfare system.
Malcolm Brabant:

Isn’t it a referendum on immigration.
Stefan Loven:

No, it’s not about crime.
Malcolm Brabant:

It is perhaps telling that the Prime Minister responds to a question about immigration with an answer about crime. On the day he was in Malmo, violence raised its ugly head. Superintendent Glen Sjogren is based in Rosengard Malmo’s biggest ghetto. We’re on our way to a murder scene in a neighboring ghetto. Hundreds of gang members are fighting for control of the lucrative cannabis and cocaine trade. According to the police, almost all of those involved have immigrant backgrounds.
Superintendent Glen Sjogren:

This year, so far, eleven homicides and shootings involved.
Malcolm Brabant:

And who are the victims mainly?
Superintendent Glen Sjogren:

The victims are for us, known people.
Malcolm Brabant:

Criminals?
Superintendent Glen Sjogren:

Criminals that’s right.
Malcolm Brabant:

For many Swedes, the gang war symbolizes a failure of integration.It fuels resentment against immigrants. The latest victim was 20 years old. He was killed next to a local mosque. The fact that rivals are killing each other is of little comfort, because the number of shootings is on the rise, and often there’s crossfire.
Superintendent Stefan Wredenmark:

And here we have a supermarket in a small square, and a primary school over there. There were not lesson, but there were pupils and people close to the murder scene last night.
Superintendent Glen Sjogren:

The citizens of Malmo feel unsafe because the shooting(s) occur in the evening. Not at night. Sometimes in the middle of the day.
Malcolm Brabant:

So it is having an effect?
Superintendent Glen Sjogren:

Yes, of course. People feel unsafe.
Sweden Democrats campaign video:

My name is Jimmie Åkesson and I will do everything in my power to solve this chaos that you Social Democrats and you Liberals have created.
Malcolm Brabant:

Jimmie Akkesson’s is benefiting most from Sweden’s growing sense of insecurity. He leads yet another far right party, the anti immigrant Sweden Democrats. The party has neo-Nazi origins, but it has jettisoned its more extreme policies and members who espouse openly racist views. Despite becoming more mainstream, the Sweden Democrats are widely regarded as pariahs. In one election video, Akkesson paints an apocalyptic image of Sweden that critics say whips up the climate of fear.
Sweden Democrats campaign video:

Mass immigration hasn’t paid off. . We know that today. And we know that in reality it inflicts enormous costs and a huge burden on our society. You have created a Sweden where families are forced to move because they no longer feel safe in their own homes.
Malcolm Brabant:

One reason why the right is gaining ground is that many working and middle class voters have abandoned the center left Social Democrats, because they believe the party ignored their concerns over immigration.
Malcolm Brabant:

According to the latest opinion polls Prime Minister Loeven’s center/left Social Democrats will get the most votes. But they won’t get a majority, which means that in order to govern they’ll need to form a coalition. And even though the far right Sweden Democrats are on course to become the second biggest party, the Prime Minister intends to prevent them from exerting influence
Prime Minister Stefan Loven:

For me one thing is very clear. No cooperation or dependence on the Sweden Democrats.
Malcolm Brabant:

But that’s ignoring a large percentage of the Swedish people who perhaps have those views isn’t it?
Prime Minister Stefan Loven:

This is a party with values so far from mine. They do not protect, that each individual has the same human value, they speak bad about minorities,they threaten media, this is not just another party, this is an extreme party.
Malcolm Brabant:

A party with some unexpected support. Nima Gholam Ali Pour is a rare creature. He’s both a refugee and candidate for the Sweden Democrats. His parents fled from Iran thirty years ago to save his brother from being conscripted as a child soldier. Despite the Prime Minister’s stance, Ali Pour is convinced the voice of his party’s supporters will be heard.
Nima Gholam Ali Pour:

A lot of political parties said they would not change on the migration issue. And they change overnight. So we will see after the election.They need a government that functions. And if we get a lot of support, you know they need support in parliament, So they have to seek our support somehow.
Malcolm Brabant:

If the right wing does as well as expected this will herald a substantial shift in the foundations of a traditionally Social Democratic society. It will provide a warning to the rest of Europe’s liberal elite. If it can happen in cozy little Sweden, it can happen to you. Ignore the working class at your peril.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/europes-migration-crisis-may-swing-sweden-to-the-right
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Why Sweden’s Far Right Is on the Rise

Krishnadev Calamur — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 16:39:01 +0000

The Sweden Democrats have been growing for years, and are likely to be among the largest parties in Parliament after Sunday’s election.

Jimmie Akesson, the leader of the Sweden Democrats, campaigns in Motala, Sweden, on September 6.FREDRIK SANDBERG / TT NEWS AGENCY / REUTERS

The worst of Europe’s migration crisis is over. Fewer migrants are coming to seek asylum, and many of those who have had their applications rejected have been deported. Yet immigration continues to spark rancorous debate, over everything from economic dislocation, to crime, to social integration, reshaping Europe’s political landscape. On Sunday, it is Sweden’s turn.

Polls show that about 1 in 5 Swedes will vote for the Sweden Democrats, the far-right, populist anti-immigrant party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement. The Social Democrats, the center-left party that has dominated Swedish politics for a century, will likely emerge as the single-largest party in parliament on Sunday, and the center-right Moderate Party is expected to finish either slightly ahead of or just behind the Sweden Democrats. (The Moderates are expected to cobble together a coalition government.) Sweden’s two establishment parties have refused to work with the Sweden Democrats, pointing to the party’s past.

But public support for the Sweden Democrats, as well as the persistence of immigration as an issue, means the party is sure to emerge a significant player after Sunday. The Sweden Democrats have pledged to end Sweden’s asylum policies, and make it harder for any newcomers to get jobs. This message has broad appeal across Europe, where the economies of many countries were battered by the recession of 2008 and crippled by the austerity measures imposed subsequently by the EU. But Sweden is different: It largely survived the recession with its economy intact, and its generous welfare state appears robust. Sweden also has a history of welcoming refugees from all over the world.

Now, this policy of openness faces severe strain, even as Sweden needs new workers who will pay the taxes required to sustain the generous welfare state for which Sweden is known. More Swedes are retiring than entering the workforce—a development with profound consequences for the future of the welfare state. And indeed, much of the current economic growth has been fueled by the foreign-born, whose taxes keep the system solvent. But here’s the problem: The unemployment rate among the foreign-born is 20 percent, more than three times the national level.

What Sweden and Japan can teach the U.S. about its aging workforce

I asked Patrick Joyce, an economist with Ratio, a Swedish think tank, about this seeming discrepancy. “Sweden’s economic upturn is benefiting from the migrants who came a while ago—those who came as children, or have been educated in Sweden,” he said. “They are doing much better in the labor market than the newly arrived. In a way, they are helping the economy to grow.”

The newly arrived refugees, by contrast, have a much harder time finding work, Joyce said. Only about half of them have a basic education, which takes them out of the running for jobs in Sweden’s advanced service economy, which, at the minimum, require vocational training in addition to basic education. Only 5 percent of jobs on the Swedish labor market are suitable for the unskilled workers. “So 50 percent of the newly arrived are non-skilled, but only 5 percent of the available jobs demand low skills,” Joyce said.

There are other obstacles, too, stemming from the challenge of assimilation. Joyce pointed out that it’s highly unlikely refugees arriving in Sweden will know the language. “Entry-level jobs in the Swedish labor market usually are in the service sector,” he said. “Even for a low-skilled work in a cafe … you need to have some basic knowledge of Swedish.” New arrivals also lack the networks and personal contacts needed to find employment. More than half of the jobs in the Swedish labor market are obtained through such connections, he said.“Migrants tend to get worse job offers through their own networks than Swedish citizens tend to do.” In other words, a large numbers of unskilled new migrants aren’t finding jobs even though there are, at least on paper, many vacancies.

Patrik Öhberg, a professor of political science at the University of Gotheburg in Sweden, told me that the issue is not that large numbers of immigrants come to the country, something that’s been happening for decades, but that many Swedes believe that “they come here but they don’t work.” “Over the last 10 years, we have 1 million people coming to Sweden,” he said. “So [the concern is] the housing market doesn’t work, the schools are not working.” Additionally, Sweden has become segregated, a problem that manifests itself through what many people perceive as higher crime rates—though the data on that are mixed. “When political parties start to talk about criminality, it taps into the discussion of immigration,” Öhberg said. That’s an issue on which the Sweden Democrats are seen to be credible.

Sweden’s inexplicable riots, explained

Vanessa Barker, a sociology professor at Stockholm University who studies democracy, migrants, and crime, told me in an email that though these are serious and longstanding concerns, the debate surrounding them often misses key points. “In public debate, crime in immigrant neighborhoods tends to be conflated with failed integration, parallel societies, criminal gangs, and in the foreign press as a sign of Swedish Dystopia,” she wrote. But “to residents in these areas, higher crime and disorder (graffiti, loitering) are the result of police ineffectiveness and socioeconomic disadvantage.”

It’s tempting to peg the rise of the Sweden Democrats to 2015, when Sweden accepted 163,000 asylum-seekers—more per-capita than any other country in the world (the number has steadily declined since then). But support for the party had actually been building for some time. In the 2014 election, it received 12.8 percent of the vote, a significant jump from the 3 percent it took in 2006.

As the Sweden Democrats ascended, Sweden debated the status of asylum-seekers, immigrants, and, pointedly, Islam. While today’s migrants come from Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Syria, earlier ones came from Bosnia, Iran, Iraq, and Somalia. They, too, had trouble finding jobs and assimilating. “The earlier period coincided with global optimism about the future and all the promises of globalization—the end of the Cold War, the end of the nation-state, the rise of internationalized human rights, democratization around the world, the fruits of the IT revolution ahead, etc,” Barker wrote. “Now, in 2018, we’ve seen the effects of the global economic recession, endless war, massive displacement of people around the world, large-scale failures of governance and government, declining trust, weak defense of human rights and human security, resurgent nationalism, and unchecked xenophobia and racism. All of these factors sit on a broken foundation for social inclusion. Migrants have become ‘suitable enemies’—to use Nils Christie’s well-known formulation—for the ills and anxieties of our age.”

What is equally true, however, is that the Sweden Democrats’ showing in recent opinion polls coincided with a heated debate across the European Union over immigration and asylum-seekers, largely from Muslim countries. This debate has vaulted right-wing, euroskeptic, anti-immigration parties in Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia, to power, and elevated them in Italy, Austria, Denmark, Finland, and the Czech Republic. In Germany, the Alternative for Germany party entered parliament for the first time last year. What they have in common, according to a Bloomberg analysis of their platforms, is a combination of “populist, nativist, and authoritarian strains.”

In Sweden, the immigration debate grew particularly heated in the fall of the 2015. The country was unprepared for the influx of asylum-seekers. Despite the fact that a section of the public welcomed many of the newcomers, opposition to the asylum policy was so hostile (much of it came during the Islamic State attack in Paris that November) that the government reversed course in 2016.

Why Sweden tweaked its migrant policy

Barker told me there were both short and long-term factors that helped explain the government’s reversal. In the short term, the government feared a breakdown of order and security, which are highly prized in Sweden, she wrote. But in the long term, “Sweden wants to preserve and uphold the bubble—its high quality of life, its social and economic well-being—its sense of national identity—for those on the inside—those deemed worthy, legitimate, productive members of society,” Barker wrote. “The newly arrived are perceived to be interlopers—taking resources from hard-working citizens.”

The Sweden Democrats, long the only party warning of the supposed perils of immigration and open borders, was quick to seize on the latest debate over migrants. And because the two main center-left and center-right parties were largely pro-refugee, the Sweden Democrats have been perceived by many Swedes as the only credible voice on the issue.

Ann-Cathrine Jungar, an expert on radical-right parties in Europe at Södertörn University in Stockholm, attributed part of the Sweden Democrats’ success to their reinvention under leader Jimmie Åkesson. They used to believe that “being Swedish is biological so you can’t become Swedish by assimilating,” she said. “They have over time … moderated themselves. Now it’s more cultural nationalist.” Åkesson has shifted the Sweden Democrats away from their neo-Nazi-linked past, making the party more professional, recruiting promising members, and formulating a zero-tolerance policy against racists and racist behavior. He has expelled more than 100 members since 2012—though revelations about the neo-Nazi ties of some of the party’s candidates this weekshowed just how much work remains to be done.

The Sweden Democrats now present themselves as a law-and-order party that backs traditional family values. In the European Parliament, they have allied not with other far-right parties, but with mainstream conservative ones like the U.K.’s ruling Conservatives. They are strong supporters of the welfare state and have accused the Social Democrats of betraying its ideals. “They say that welfare is threatened by immigration. That it is costly. And immigrants require a lot more from the public welfare than ordinary Swedes,” Jungar said.

The message has won it supporters. Öhberg told me that the Sweden Democrats initially enjoyed support mostly in the south of the country, but new poll numbers suggested the party now has the support of a broader section of society. The typical Sweden Democrats supporter, Öhberg said, is “usually a blue-collar male worker with a good job. He can make a living. He’s not a bitter man. He’s functional in society.” For now, he said, the party’s support is mainly among men, but its leadership is making a more concerted effort to reach out to women and others.

The refusal of the main parties to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats ensures that they will own the issue of immigration. Whatever the results of Sunday’s election, the Sweden Democrats will play an important role in Sweden’s immediate future.

“Sweden tried to be the role model, but it wasn’t able to do it,” Öhberg told me. “They [the two main parties] need to rethink the Swedish model and the Swedish capacity to integrate all these refugees. They would like to be this shining example: have a lot of refugees coming to Sweden, [and] have a good economy, and don’t have any right-wing, populist parties in Parliament. But that just fell apart.”

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

KRISHNADEV CALAMUR is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers global news. He is a former editor and reporter at NPR and the author of Murder in Mumbai.

Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/09/sweden-election/569500/

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