Sweden: Liberalism in Trouble
Will Sweden trade its liberal leanings for a populist push in forthcoming elections?
For years Sweden has been praised for its generous welfare state and the welcoming hand it held out to refugees. But things are changing. Sweden is approaching the end of its most closely fought election in decades. Polls predict that the long dominant Social Democrats will get the largest share of the vote but not enough to govern alone. As in other European countries, significant numbers of the old working class are turning to an anti-EU anti-immigrant party. The Sweden Democrats are socially conservative, talking tough on immigration, and helped by recent criminal incidents that some are pinning on immigrants. They could get enough support to influence the country's future. President Trump has long been tweeting about Sweden, claiming "large scale immigration" there isn't working. But what's the evidence? Is Sweden suffering from an epidemic of crime caused by immigrants? Has it failed to assimilate the people it welcomed in? Or are these at best half-truths deployed in a tough election campaign? Ritula Shah and a panel of experts discuss whether Sweden has turned its back on its social democratic past?
Last on
Photo
Police face-off against far-right sympathisers demonstrating against migrants in central Stockholm by AFP/Jonathan Nackstrand/Getty Images
Contributors:
Nasra Ali - Chair of social democratic students of Sweden
Ann-Cathrine Jungar - Associate Professor Sodertorn University
Rouzbeh Parsi - Senior lecturer in Human Rights Studies at Lund University.
Markus Wiechel - Foreign Affairs spokesman, Sweden Democrats
Broadcasts
- Fri 7 Sep 201808:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Fri 7 Sep 201817:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Fri 7 Sep 201823:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Sat 8 Sep 201803:06GMTBBC World Service except Australasia & News Internet
- Sat 8 Sep 201811:06GMTBBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
Podcast
![]()
The Real Story
Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.


