Sweden faces prospect of far right at heart of government – a week after AfD’s victory in Germany

I t was a point of national pride that at the height of the 2015 refugee crisis across Europe Sweden took in 163,000 asylum seekers, the second highest per capita across the continent – equivalent to one person for every 60 locals.

But a decade on, that number had fallen by 96 per cent. Successive governments from both the political Left and then the Right have pushed for firmer measures on migration that have steadily gained acceptance across society.

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Voters will head to the polls on Sunday for a tight election that stands to decide whether the country will shun the direction of the last government or deepen this political shift.

The ruling centre-right minority coalition relies on outside support from the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats , a party that has steadily come into the mainstream and is now polling at 19 per cent. A win would offer them ministerial positions for the first time, inviting deep-seated concern from onlookers.

“The election is a referendum on the Sweden Democrats; whether we continue to go down a far-right path,” according to author and political commentator Jan Guillou.

Ahead of Sunday’s general elections, The Independent looks at a far-right victory could mean for a country grappling again with its identity.

The Sweden Democrats were founded in 1988 as a radical nationalist party. According to an internal investigation, some founders were neo-Nazis, although the party under Jimmie Åkesson, who has led them since 2005, has disavowed those roots, expelling openly racist members and saying it maintains a strict “no racism” policy.

Cleaning up the party’s image has helped a marginal movement grow into a substantial force with influence over talking points across the political spectrum. The movement still leans on hardline populist messaging around migration, criminal justice and national identity. Åkesson has found an audience in appeals to making Sweden “great again”.

“He's not up on a ‌high horse ⁠and he has a knack for explaining complicated issues in an easy, understandable way,” explains Jenny Madestam, a political scientist at Sweden’s Södertörn University. “He is the guy next door.”

This appeal has won the Sweden Democrats enough influence to become essential in the centre-right’s battle to hold on to power. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says the country needs a stable majority government to tackle important issues, such as national security and gang crime, and that the only way is to include the Sweden Democrats. Some Conservatives last time around framed an alliance with the far-right as a way to contain its influence.

One area where all the main parties seem to agree is Russia.