Sweden Democrats Party and the Uncertain Political Course of Far-Right Extremism in Europe

It may sound surprising but the social opportunities that emerge due to the process of globalization still cannot overcome some major democratic and sovereign challenges. The contemporary modelling of international and collective politico-religious consciousness appears to be difficult to comprehend. The rhetorical discourse regarding European far-right extremism creates a parallel dimension that evolves simultaneously with the modern dialogue about transcontinental unit. Despite the strong European political efforts for sociability and cooperative work, the results of almost every national election indicate different public opinion towards the subject.

Sweden Democrats Party and its tricky but winning populist strategy

Photo: American Nationalist

The elections in Sweden on 14 September remain to be a turning point in the country`s democratic history. After a long and very intensive campaign the political leaders not simply replaced one governmental formation with another but legalized the triumph of the far-right extremism in Europe. The Populist Party Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden Democrats) became the third biggest political power in the national Parliament by gaining 12, 9 % of the electoral support. The enormous success of the Sweden Democrats (SD) started with the previous elections in 2010 when they entered for first time in the government. Since then, their presence in the political scene provokes intense institutional and social concerns towards the increasing level of violent Nazi and Racist expressions in the country.

Despite the statements of some national political commentators that the SD`s adherents originate only from regions which were historically under a foreign dominance (e.g. Skåne and Norrland counties) the official statistics proved a huge populist influence over the majority of municipalities. Furthermore, different social groups who previously supported the liberal-conservative and centre-right political wing (the New Moderate Party) this time gave their votes to the centre-left power. The public analysers explained the dramatic switch as a consequence of a growing unemployment and deterioration the heath care conditions in Sweden. However, even if these civil issues do not make the Scandinavian state an exception from the standard process of far-right extremist invasion in Europe, the case is still consisted of intriguing details.

The aspect that makes Swedish nationalism captive from analytical and political perspective is the implementation of new ’’softer’’ and more selective approach towards the immigrants. In contrast to other far-right representatives who attempt to defend their history and culture so to protect the national identity (e.g. the Flemish Interest in Netherlands, the True Finns in Finland and the Movement for Better Hungary), the SD leader Jimmie Åkesson turns the party against Islamism by reason of its dogmatic ideological essence and the refugees permanent residence because they are wasting the country`s economic resources.

During his summer pre-election speech, the charismatic politician demonstrates a good will to be self-critical and not to recognize the European Union as a thread since he does not reject the existence of a homogenous society (e.g. the Slavic nations). By claiming to be a social conservative nationalist who does not support Swedish feminism in general but sustains the equality between genders, Åkesson contravenes to his political opponents only in relation to their immigration politics.

SD stays sceptical towards the war in Gaza since it affirms to be a nonviolent party. The populists observe the situation in Iraq and Syria as a counter to the rights of Christian taxpayers and minorities in the Middle East region. The nationalists take a jaundiced view of Muslims due to the growing Djihad movements in Egypt, Lebanon and Afghanistan. According to them, the Swedish government shall not take more refugees from these countries in the name of Christianity, Western civilization, world`s anti-terrorist defence and state`s economic stability.

Western Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) – a Brave but Hasty Tactic to Follow

Imaginable or not, the current Swedish religious and financial nationalist strategy is supported not only by other far-right parties in Europe (the National Front in France) but even from some centre-right representatives (the Conservative Party in United Kingdom). The idea of a third war against Iraq rose in 2003 during the presidency of George W. Bush but this time the context of a potential military intervention in the Middle East is characterized as a diplomatic act, part of anti-terroristic campaign.

Despite the numerous civil opinions towards the dangerous and unprofitable status of this governmental decision, the political leaders Marine Le Pen (NF) and David Cameron (CP) greet the opportunity of a strike against the Islamic State. The murder of David Haines, a British hostage, executed by ISIS members became an occasion to declare an official start of military actions against the state. Hence, SD nationalist party, NF far-rights and British Conservatives all together will oppose to the Islamist extremism by reason of collective duty to defend the Western secularism. Maybe this advanced strategy marks the beginning of a new stage in far-right policy making or maybe the lack of healthy dialogue between political actors and public sphere inspires desperate efforts to gain again the hearts of the citizens.

Theoretically, such heterogeneous symbolic alliance mainly refers to the study of national identity and the importance of a mutual communication ground in which particular structures of information circulate. The case of SD successful campaign and the present far-right extremist tendency to set against Islamism put some daylight regarding the correlation between the social self-determination and the use of taboos and stereotypes when developing a universal political language. Europe is in communicative deficit and only the time will prove if this new but uncertain policy will become productive.

References

Edelman, Adam. & Blau, Reuven. (2014) ’British Prime Minister David Cameron pledges aid against ISIS as Obama officials say U.S. is ’at war’ with extremists’, The Daily News, 14 Sept, <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/britain-pledges-aid-isis-obama-officials-u-s-war-article-1.1939572> (17.09.2014)

Harper, Tom. (2014) ’David Haines remembered: Death of British hostage executed by Isis lamented from the Balkans to Sudan’, The Independent, 14 Sept, <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/david-haines-remembered-death-of-british-hostage-executed-by-isis-lamented-from-the-balkans-to-sudan-9732358.html> (17.09.2014)

’Jimmie Åkesson (SD) Sommar Tal’, SVT Rapport, 2 Aug 2014

Rosén, Eric. (2014) ’Tolv komma nio procent’, Politism, 15 Sept, <http://www.politism.se/story/tolv-komma-nio-procent/#post-16933> (15.09.2014)

Sükösd, Miklós. & Jakubowicz, Karol. (2011) Media, Nationalism and European Identities, Budapest: Central European University Press.

Villepin, Dominique. (2014) ’Coalition contre l'Etat islamique : « absurde et dangereuse »’, Le Monde, 12 Sept, <http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2014/09/12/coalition-contre-l-etat-islamique-absurde-et-dangereuse-selon-dominique-de-villepin_4486502_823448.html> (17.09.2014)

Wilson, Robin. & Hainsworth, Paul. (2012) Far-Right Parties And Discourse In Europe: A Challenge For Our Times. Brussels: European Network Against Racism

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