Sweden’s center-left bloc led by the Social Democratic party is set for a narrow victory over right-wing opponents in today’s parliamentary election, according to Yle. The biggest upset was the dismal showing of the conservative Moderate party, which slipped into third place after the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.
In light of the boycott against the Sweden Democrats, the Moderate party changed its tune and was willing to form a government with the anti-immigration party with neo-Nazi roots.
The lesson? Don’t copy the rhetoric of xenophobic parties. Voters can vote for the real thing instead of a poor copy.
In Finland, the best example was when the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* split into two parties in 2017. There was the old PS and a lighter version called Blue Reform.
The PS survived as a party, and Blue Reform disappeared from the political map.
Forming a new government will not be easy for Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. The Social Democrats need the Left Party and Center Party in the coalition. However, the Center Party has said it will not sit with the Left Party in the same government.
The good news, for now, is that pinning the blame on migrants for gang violence and other problems spread by the Sweden Democrats and Moderate parties did not convince voters. This does not mean that the Social Democrats have not adopted the toxic rhetoric of the Sweden Democrats.
