Election considered as an immigration test, Swedish identity

STOCKHOLM – Swedish voters spoke out on immigration Sunday during a general election that could strengthen a party rooted in the white supremacist movement if enough votes were voiced to protest the influx of newcomers into this nation historically heterogeneous.

The potentially promising prospects of far-right Swedish Democrats make many other Swedes worried about the erosion of the humanitarian values ​​that have long been the basis of the Scandinavian country's identity.

The election was the first in Sweden since the government authorized in 2015 163,000 migrants in the country with a population of 10 million. The number is much lower than the number of asylum seekers that Germany accepted that year, but the highest per capita of all European countries.

"This election is a referendum on our well-being," said Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. "It is also a question of decency, of a decent democracy … and not to let the Swedish Democrats, an extremist party, a racist party, have an influence in the government".

About 7.5 million voters were eligible to choose the next members of the Riksdag or parliament, which has 349 seats. About 6,300 candidates applied for a four-year term. It was unlikely that a single party would get a majority of 175 seats.

Novus pollster's latest poll for public broadcaster SVT on Friday suggested that Lofven's ruling Social Democrats would lose a substantial number of seats, but would end up with about a quarter of the vote – the most predicted support for a party .

If this were to happen, it would be a historic lurch for the traditional leftist party, which dominated Swedish politics after the Second World War.

The poll said the Swedish Democrats – led by Jimmie Akesson – would get 19.1 percent of the vote, up from 13 percent in 2014.

The Center-Right Moderate Party is expected to take third place with 17.7%.

Immigration was the hot topic of the campaign, contributing to the growing popularity of Swedish Democrats.

The party worked to soften its neo-Nazi image while helping to break long-standing taboos about what Swedes could say openly about immigration and integration without being rejected as racist.

During a heated debate between party leaders on Friday, Akesson caused a sensation by blaming migrants for the difficulties they often encounter in finding a job and not adapting to Sweden.

The broadcaster who broadcast the televised debate, SVT, then described his remarks as degrading and against the democratic mandate of public broadcasting.

Akesson responded that state television should not take sides and later announced that he would not participate in any of SVT's election programs on Sunday.

At the party rally Saturday, he strongly criticized the Lofven government for "giving priority" to the cause of immigrants in relation to the needs of citizens.

"This government we had now. During these four years, they have given priority to asylum seekers, "said Mr. Akesson.

"Sweden needs respite, we need strict and responsible immigration policies".

The strong rhetoric of Akesson has shocked many Swedes since the country has been helping people in need for a long time.

"Terrible! I just want to cry when I think about it," said Veronica Lundqvist, referring to Swedish Democrats after leaving a polling station in central Stockholm.

"They say terrible things. I mean, of course, we have a lot of refugees here, but we have to deal with them. They come from a terrible place, terrible wars. We can not just throw them away. "

But others say the Swedish Democrats are trying to solve a historical problem.

"It's an integration problem," Karl Ljung told the same polling station. "It's not just about what happened two years ago when we had a lot of refugees. This is especially so since we have an integration problem for perhaps 20 years. So, we really have to solve it now.

Mohamed Nuur, a 26-year-old Social Democrat candidate of Somali descent, said he saw Akesson bringing Sweden back into the past.

"For me, Sweden that it (Jimmie Akesson) wants to see … it's not our future," said Nuur. "It's to go back in history. For me, when he says that immigrants are not welcome in Sweden, he tries to spread hatred between people. In fact, it is the immigrants who built this country.

Security was another key issue of the elections. Citizens have expressed concern over reports of increased crimes such as rape and gang violence.

Sabina Macri, who voted in central Stockholm, said the current political situation had left her in doubt about her future in Sweden.

"We were very safe. We were a very calm nation, "she said. "And today, I feel a little uncertain for the future, especially for my children. We have two girls.

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Jari Tanner reported from Helsinki. Jeff Schaeffer and Philipp Jenne in Stockholm contributed to this report.

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