On the morning of the parliamentary elections, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson expressed concern about the recent high poll numbers of the right-wing Sweden Democrats. Jimmie Akesson’s party could become the second-strongest force in Parliament for the first time, giving it government responsibility and leading the right-wing party bloc in Parliament opposed to the centre-left coalition of ruling Social Democrats.
“I am concerned that the Sweden Democrats would be the largest of these parties. It is unclear whether they will then get ministerial posts or not, but they claim that and are already sure that they will have even greater influence on government policy, ”said the social democrat Andersson WELT. She warned of the consequences if the right-wing nationalists actually had the greatest electoral success in their history.
“The Sweden Democrats are not like many other right-wing populist parties in Europe. According to a study conducted by her own party, they have deep roots among Swedish neo-Nazis.” The prime minister pointed out that many MPs still have ties to racist and right-wing extremist organizations.
A study by the Swedish research company Acta Publica recently revealed that 300 candidates running in Sweden’s district, municipal and parliamentary elections last year made racist or neo-Nazi statements; 214 of these people ran for the Sweden Democrats.
The party works, especially in the social networks, with “hatred of other politicians,” said the prime minister. “If the Sweden Democrats can co-govern for four years, I’m worried about how Swedish society will develop.”
On the second day of his trip to Scandinavia, Chancellor Scholz met Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. Among other things, it is about the NATO accession of the two countries. Follow the full length of the press conference here.
Source: WORLD