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For the rest of the world, Sunday's general election in a prosperous and progressive Sweden is an obvious lesson: no country is immune to the populist uprisings of today. The Swedish Democratic Party, an anti-immigration party that has its roots in the country's neo-Nazi movement, is right behind the long-dominant Social Democrats, side by side with the moderate party, the largest party in the country. the traditional right.
But this is not all there is to learn from this surprising turnaround, especially for democracies facing similar insurrections. The Swedish case suggests that right-wing populism is less a response to economic or social change than the inability of traditional parties and governments to offer a clear vision of how to maintain a vital national identity in the face of such transformations. .
Historically, the Swedish left has been distinguished by its nationalist pride. Between the two world wars, the social democrats stole Sweden's nationalist concept as "the home of the people" (Folkhemmet) of the political right of the country. Party leader Per Albin Hansson said that "there is no more patriotic party than the Social Democrats, because nothing could be more patriotic than turning our country into a place." where everyone feels at home. . "Unlike the rest of Europe, in the early 1930s, nationalist appeals were associated with the left rather than the right in Sweden. Social Democrats have continued to dominate Swedish politics for almost a century.
This legacy is now up for grabs. Swedish Democrats say the Swedish political establishment has forgotten what the "home of the people" means and says its own party is now its real advocate. The big question is whether other parts of the country can claim this central concept of Swedish identity and adapt it to new circumstances.
Many economic problems affecting other countries are absent in Sweden. Economic growth is high, unemployment is low and the country is consistently ranked among the most competitive and innovative in the world. Inequality has increased, but it remains relatively low and, unlike in the United States, income for all groups has increased in Sweden. According to a survey conducted in October 2016 by YouGov, nearly two-thirds of Swedes see it as a strength for good, against only 40% in the United States.
Social change has become a major concern. Polls consistently show that Swedes view immigration as the most important issue facing their country. A generation ago, Sweden was extremely homogeneous, but today, the proportion of people born abroad is 18.5%, higher than that of the United States, and this growth is 39 is produced very quickly. In 2015 alone, some 160,000 asylum seekers were admitted to Sweden, whose total population is just under 10 million. The arrival of large numbers of Muslims fleeing the turmoil in the Middle East has brought unprecedented cultural and religious diversity to the country's history.
Despite this spectacular influx, Sweden remains perhaps the most welcoming and least xenophobic country in Europe. A Pew survey in 2017 asked Europeans in 15 countries to know if anyone should be born to "really" belong to the European Union. they would be willing to accept Muslims or Jews as neighbors or family members; whether immigrants were generally honest and hardworking; if their own national culture was "inherently superior"; and whether Muslims generally supported violence and extremism. On all these measures, the Swedes have exceeded other Europeans in their openness to foreigners.
In Sweden, immigration concerns were less caused by entrenched prejudices than by pragmatic concerns. Recent polls show that more than three-quarters of Swedes believe that the integration of newcomers has gone badly and that two-thirds fear that immigration will undermine the "Swedish model".
In response to these concerns, Swedish Democrats followed the usual populist scenario: they accused immigrants of taking resources from Swedes born in their country, refusing to work, committing criminal and terrorist acts and rejecting Swedish. the very real problems that plague many of Sweden's new immigrant enclaves.
What was surprising in Sweden is the inability of the Social Democrats and other parties to offer a compelling alternative to this dystopian narrative. Over the last few months, social democrats have begun to worry about these issues and they have led the populist debate by focusing on crime, law and order, limiting immigration, family reunion, etc. .
Erik Åsbrink, former Finance Minister of the Social Democrats, criticized this approach, saying that this allowed the populists to proclaim "we are the original, they are just a tasteless copy to which you can not not trust ". internal struggles, leaving the Social Democrats appear both unjustified and confused. In the midst of this turmoil, the party dropped in the polls as the Swedish Democrats stood up.
All major Swedish parties have fled the populists, which means that a minority government is expected to emerge from this week's elections. But the traditional parties of the country will continue to suffer losses if they ignore the problems related to the rise of the Swedish Democrats. David Ahlin, head of one of Sweden's largest pollsters, notes that populist voters in the country "are particularly likely to think that those in power do not understand or care about their needs and concerns."
Swedish democrats, like populists elsewhere, peddle a politics of fear. They constantly say that other parties are leading the country to disaster. And supporters of Swedish Democrats, like their counterparts elsewhere, tend to be extremely pessimistic about their country's prospects.
The only answer to such gloomy visions is a policy of hope – which must include concrete solutions to contemporary problems as well as a broader vision of how social and economic change can strengthen Sweden as a "home" . Jonas Sjostedt The small left party told the Financial Times: "For us, this election concerns the character of Swedish society. It is about this type of country that we should be. He reminded voters of Sweden's traditional values of tolerance, openness and solidarity and expressed confidence in the country's ability to assimilate immigrants to its way of life. His party has grown considerably in polls.
Given the magnitude of demographic change that the country has absorbed, Sweden's resilience is remarkable. In addition, real progress has been made in just a few years on issues such as the participation of immigrants in the labor market and their progress in education.
Conceived at the beginning of the 20th century by the country's social democrats, the "House of Peoples" was supposed to deal precisely with the type of challenge that Sweden faces today: to create a society where all, regardless of their environment, potential. A modern update must include a positive vision of how to encourage newcomers to adopt the rights and obligations that have made Sweden a model for the world and an alternative to the populism of the right.
-Dr. Berman is a professor of political science at Barnard College. His latest book, Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe: From the Old Regime to the Present, will be published by Oxford University Press in February.
