Swedish Political Establishment Worries as Anti-Immigration Party Rises in Polls

The Sweden Democrats, who caused Prime Minister Löfven to call a General Election only months after the previous vote had taken place, are climbing in the country’s opinion polls.

According to a new survey by Swedish channel TV4, the right wing party are experiencing a polling high of 16 per cent, up from 12.3 per cent in the election in September, the Euractive website reports.

The party is the only one in the Riksdagen which is anti EU and has both caused controversy and gained votes by calling for a change to Sweden’s very liberal immigration policy.

Earlier this month, they voted alongside other parties in an ‘Alliance’ of Conservatives against the left wing government’s budget.

But despite calling the election for March 2015 in response to the lack of support, he could still be returned as the Prime Minister of the Scandinavian country. His party, the Social Democrats, is currently scoring 32 per cent in the same poll, up 3.4 per cent since September and remain the country’s biggest party.

Following the September plebiscite, all the other parties represented in Parliament refused to work with the Swedish Democrats, viewing the party as being racist. This is linked to the party’s main focus of limiting the flow of migration into Sweden.

But the refusal of these parties to work with the Sweden Democrats has so far been counterproductive, making it not only the king maker but giving it publicity and marking it out as different from the other parties in the Swedish political system.

Kent Ekeroth, an MP with the party, told Breitbart London why he felt the Sweden Democrats were continuing to rise in the polls, despite the hostility of other political movements.

“Immigration is affecting more and more people, and they don’t like it,” he said. “We have record levels and immigrants are moving into every corner of Sweden. Sometimes they triple the population of smaller towns.

For instance, an idyllic town of 250 people, they put 500 immigrants, making the original inhabitants there a minority overnight. So when ordinary people see first-hand the problems with immigration, they switch to us, who have been warning about this for decades.”

One local newspaper reports the increasing hostility between communities and newcomers.

“We have the asylum seekers in our gardens, they steal our vegetables and flowers, destroying and taking lamps and artwork, refusing to stand in line at the grocery store. They go in the middle of the street and refuse to move away even if there comes a car,” said Gert Schuld, from Målilla. ”

Mr Ekeroth explained that more people in Sweden feel confident in voting for the party now they have passed the threshold of four per cent where their opponents can claim a vote for them is a ‘wasted vote’.

“The Sweden Democrats have established ourselves as a serious party, since the last period in parliament. This has created higher credibility for us, thus making it easier for people to vote for us.”