How Sweden Shows Populism Can Work | Danube Politics

Sweden. Europe’s eternal model of the right path. And increasingly, also its vision of the wrong road. 

Since the year 2000, Sweden has run the mass migration experiment at hyper-speed. And equally, it is now running a counter-revolution at similar pace. Anyone familiar with the country will be aware of the Law of Jonte and the concept of the Thought Corridor. 

Swedes are herd-like: it is very hard to break with Orthodoxy. But when the herd moves, the herd moves. 

In 2022, populism came to Sweden. The country fractured its historical cordon sanitaire, to elect a coalition of the centre-right Moderate Party, with support from the hard right Sweden Democrats, led by Jimmy Akkeson. 

Akkeson has been a fixture in Swedish politics for over 15 years. His career is a classic case of First they laugh at you, then they denounce you, then you win. From national joke, into the Riskdag. Akkeson has modified his positions somewhat, presented a more clean-cut image. But in the main, it is public opinion that has done the real pivot. 

The Sweden Democrats are now three years deep into a coalition that has not faltered. And, as a result of the historic Tidö Agreement, has made great strides in regulating immigration. 

Yet despite delivering what they promised on that score, the public appetite does not appear to be sated. Indeed, Swedes today are drifting further right than they ever have on questions of culture. With an election due in 2026, it now appears that Akkeson could not only bolster the traditional parties - he could lead a government. 

What happens next? Could Sweden now point the way to a sophisticated dismantlement of the mass migration project? And could Akkeson prove central to that? 

To explain, Gavin Haynes is joined by visiting fellow at the Danube Institute, Markus Johansson-Martis.