Former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven on stemming the tide of right-wing authoritarianism

During his 7 years leading Sweden’s government from 2014 to 2021, Stefan Löfven had a front row seat to observe the rise of right-wing and neo-fascist political parties both at home and around Europe. A former welder, and union leader from working class roots, Löfven earned the nickname “the escape artist” during his years as prime minister for his knack for holding together governments despite his country’s increasingly fractious and polarized politics. But this year the Sweden Democrats—a party with its roots in fascist and white nationalist ideology—became the second leading vote-getter and were embraced as part of a ruling coalition government by other conservative and centrist parties. Löfven says the Sweden Democrats, who were once politically radioactive, are now the tail wagging the dog of Sweden’s new government. And he says the rise of far-right parties is a trend all over Europe, most recently in Italy, but also in Poland and Hungary, where they have fanned fears of economic insecurity, cultural displacement, and crime to scapegoat immigrants and offer authoritarianism as a cure-all, which has enabled them to steal followers from more mainstream parties and take power. Löfven says Europe’s democratic multilateralists are now on the back foot, trying to sell democracy and tolerance in a social-media-driven communications culture that favors the simplistic slogans and memes favored by the right. In this tumultuous era in European politics, he says only time will tell whether the rapid pace of societal change will keep driving voters into the arms of extremist parties, or whether the unpopular Russian war on Ukraine being prosecuted by the Godfather of the continent’s strongmen, Vladimir Putin, will take some the shine off authoritarianism’s allure. 

Stefan Löfven grew up as foster child in a working-class family in the small town in northern Sweden. He studied social work at university and worked as a welder for a manufacturer of railcars. In 1981 he began taking an active role in the Swedish Metalworkers’ Union, ultimately become the president 2006–2012. In 1973 he started a local Swedish Social Democratic Youth League club. In 2012 he became leader of the party. In the parliamentary election in September 2014 Löfven won, and his party is still the leading and largest party in Sweden. He stepped down as a prime minister in November 2021. Today, Löfven is chairman of the board of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, as well as chairman of the board of the Olof Palme Memorial Fund. A staunch supporter of the United Nations and multilateralism, he was appointed to lead the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism by Secretary-General António Guterres in February.

Ralph Ranalli of the HKS Office of Public Affairs and Communications is the host, producer, and editor of HKS PolicyCast. A former journalist, public television producer, and entrepreneur, he holds an A.B. in Political Science from UCLA and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University.

The co-producer of PolicyCast is Susan Hughes. Design and graphics support is provided by Lydia Rosenberg, Delane Meadows and the OCPA Design Team. Social media promotion and support is provided by Natalie Montaner and the OCPA Digital Team.