Slargosites do great in Swedish Election

[Viking]

No thread yet? Are you swedes still in denial?

http://www.thelocal.se/20140914/reinfeldt-steps-down-after-election-defeat

Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt stepped down late on Sunday night as Social Democrat leader Stefan Löfven was poised to take over and the far right Sweden Democrats made historic gains.

A left-leaning coalition led by Sweden's Social Democrats is now expected to take over from the centre-right government that has led the country since 2006.

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt conceded defeat late on Sunday with the vote counting almost complete.

"We didn't make it," the 49-year-old leader of the Moderates party announced to supporters in Stockholm.

"The election is over. Sweden has made its decision. And I will hand in my notice tomorrow. All these years under the Alliance have been fantastic," he told the crowd.

This sets the stage for the Social Democrat leader, 57-year-old former trade unionist Stefan Loefven, to attempt to form a minority coalition government with the Greens and the former communist Left Party.

With over 95 percent of all districts counted, the red-green coalition had secured a total of 43.6 percent of the vote.

This compared with 39.5 percent for the four-party Alliance led by Reinfeldt.

Social Democrats' manifesto promises

The anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats more than doubled their votes, to about 13 percent, becoming the country's third-largest party.



The Local's Election Blog

Social Democrat leader Stefan Löfven took the stage at the Waterfront Conference Centre in Stockholm at around midnight.

"I'll talk to other parties. My hand is outstretched. I'll talk to the Greens, but also to other parties," he said, making it clear he did not mean the Sweden Democrats.

"Remember, 87 percent of Sweden didn't vote for them," he told the crowd to a great cheer.

"I want to thank Fredrik Reinfeldt, I have a lot of respect for you as a person and politician and I wish you all the luck," he added.



Sweden elections: who's who in politics?

The far-right Sweden Democrats were a virtual non-entity less than a decade ago, and only entered parliament in the 2010 election, winning 5.7 percent of the vote and 20 seats in the 349-seat legislature.

Sunday's result, which is likely to more than double their presence in the parliament, is a major triumph for its leader, 35-year-old Jimmie Åkesson.

"We're the absolute kingmaker now," Åkesson said in front of jubilant supporters in the Swedish capital.


He told broadcaster SVT that the other parties, which have refused to negotiate with the Sweden Democrats in parliament since 2010, "can't ignore us the way they have ignored us over the past four years."

"You have to be able to govern this country for four years, and it's going to be hard if they are not prepared to talk to us or listen to us," Åkesson told SVT.

Åkesson has carried out a lengthy campaign to clean up the party's image as a fringe phenomenon, expelling members whose xenophobic remarks have contributed to its racist reputation.

Outgoing Prime Minister Reinfeldt has been widely credited with steering the country through the global financial crisis, consolidating Sweden's position as one of the healthiest economies in Europe.

Despite these accomplishments, Swedes yearn for fresh faces at the top, citing this as a main reason for the centre-right's changing electoral fortunes.

Meanwhile, the Sweden Democrat's huge advances are seen due to growing concern in Sweden over an accelerating influx of refugees, with up to 90,000 expected to travel to the Nordic country this year.

Sweden Democrats' manifesto promises

The Local asked Joakim Isheden, who is on the Board of Directors for the party's youth wing if he thought the result would change Sweden's global image.

"Yes but in a good way. We have a reputation for accepting more immigrants than anywhere else in Europe. I think this result will show other countries that it is time for them to change too. We just can't keep going in the same direction", he said.

The electoral gain for the Sweden Democrats confirms a Europe-wide trend of soaring popularity for populist right-wing parties.

The eurosceptic Alternative for Germany, which has flirted with populist positions on immigration and law and order, made gains in elections Sunday in the eastern states of Thuringia and Brandenburg.

The Feminist Initiative, which looked set to break through the 4 percent threshold during the exit polls, finished just above 3 percent and missed the chance of a spot in parliament.



Political scientist Nick Aylott told The Local that the evening's results were largely expected, but he added that the new government did not look like a particularly strong one.

The Social Democrats and the Greens can't go it alone, as much as they would like to, he explained.

"They may need at least two other parties to be sure of getting legislation through," Aylott said. "And that may be tricky."

He added that all of the current parliamentary parties seemed disappointed with their numbers - with one exception.

"The far-right Sweden Democrats appear to have more than doubled their score," Aylott remarked.

"The other parties will try desperately to continue the Sweden Democrats' isolation. But that will now be a real challenge, and will create acute dilemmas for several parties."

TLDR: OMG THE NAZIS AND SOZIS WIN!!!!!11111oneoneone

Swedish press in denial at least.

[The Brain]

I'm not sure what's so right about the Sweden Democrats, they're a taxes and welfare party only with a no-darkies twist.

The SocDem leader is weak so watching him herding Greens and Communists will be painful. At least the Feminazis didn't get in.

[Martinus]

I'm not sure what's so right about the Sweden Democrats, they're a taxes and welfare party only with a no-darkies twist.

Nationalism and socialism - two great tastes that go great together.

[Liep]

The Danish right is in uproar over Reinfeldts unwillingness to pull a Fogh, predicts it'll only be a matter of years before they accept their xenophobic Nordic roots.

[Liep]

Expressen's frontpage. "Yesterday 781120 Swedes voted for *logo for Slargosite party*"

[Viking]

The swedish media discourse on immigration and integration basically involves people calling each other racists.

[The Brain]

There is still no discussion about closing the floodgates among non-SD parties. The issue will continue to fester.

[The Brain]

My non-scientific impression is that the amount of anti-democratic sentiment and action reached new heights this election campaign. Many many people in Sweden don't believe in freedom, dialogue and democracy.

[derspiess]

Democrats

[The Brain]

Some papers are starting to say stuff about how we need to do something about integration since apparently it's an issue that makes people vote SD. Like hell it is. Many Swedes don't want to integrate with medieval tribes from the ME. They want Sweden to do something about immigration, not integration. It has become obvious to many Swedes that "integration" means that we must bend over forwards to accommodate hateful religions. I remember a time when you could make fun of religion in Sweden without prosecutors bringing THE LAAWW and without people trying to murder you. That time is gone and will not return.

[DGuller]

I think Iraq War proponents weren't the only ones to not think through what it means to be a state.  It seems like a lot of Western European balls of light likewise didn't think through the policy of immigration into culturally and ethnically homogeneous nation-states.  Not every nation is suited to handle immigration.  Hopefully the backlash against it isn't going to take democracy with it.

[Tonitrus]

It could be worse...there could be right-wing Swedes sailing Viking ships around the Baltic and sinking refugee boats.