As Election Looms, Sweden Is Burning Again Tonight

As Election Looms, Sweden Is Burning Again Tonight

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...?itok=rZkBMMwa Who could have seen this coming?

Tweets with videos did not transfer; go to the link for the photos, videos and tweets of the damage

With the highly anticipated Swedish election looming next weekend, and the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party having surged in the polls (until the last few days), the timing of tonight's gang riots is only likely to enrage voters even more.
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Up to 22 cars were torched or damaged across southern Sweden Friday morning, weeks after dozens of cars were set on fire using molotov cocktails.

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Police in the southern city of Trollhättan have opened an investigation into one fire which left up to 10 cars damaged, according to local news outlet Aftonbladet. Authorities were also called to the Kronegården around 3:30 a.m. to put out a "fully-fledged" fire which had fully engulfed three cars before spreading further.

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...ars%20fire.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWgu43j7gd0

Youtube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWgu43j7gd0

"It was a fully-fledged fire in three cars and then spread to the fire related cars," said Johan Ytterberg, internal officer at Norra Älvsborg's Rescue Service Federation.

According to the police, four cars were totally burned out and six cars, which were nearby, were injured by the fire.
The police have written a notification of gross damage, but no person is arrested for the crime. -Aftonbladet

Two weeks ago, we reported that multiple gangs of masked youths rampaging across three major Swedish cities, setting cars on fire in what appeared to be a coordinated action.

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ntelligence Fusion‏ @IntellFusion

Multiple arson attacks on vehicles in #Gothenburg tonight - An estimated 15 cars alleged to have been torched - Youths with molotov cocktails are reported to have set fire to the vehicles - Other arson attacks reported in Trollhättan - Ongoing #Sweden #Göteborg #svpol #breaking

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1:53 PM - 13 Aug 2018

As The Daily Mail reported at the time, police said they were dealing with multiple fires as dramatic footage showed youths targeting vehicles in a shopping centre and hospital car park at Frölunda Torg, south-west of Gothenburg.

Tweets with videos did not transfer; go to the link for the photos, videos and tweets of the damage

PeterSweden‏Verified account @PeterSweden7

Photos from Gothenburg in Sweden right now. It's a war zone.

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3:13 PM - 13 Aug 2018

Police reported that the situation iwas under control and they remain on the premises to keep order.

Frölunda: A group of about 6-8 masked youth fires and throws stones. 31 cars have burned and in addition to these 35 cars are injured. Nobody is arrested.
Nordost: A group of about 8-10 young people throws stones and fires. 15 cars have burned. Nobody is arrested.
Trollhättan: A larger group of about 30-40 young people throws stones and fires. Six cars have burned and another few cars must be damaged. Here roads have been blocked by youngsters and they have even thrown stones against the police and their vehicles. At the moment, identification of young people is ongoing.
When most fires started within a short period of time, it can not be excluded that there is a connection between the fires, the case will be investigated. Polish patrons will remain in the affected areas as long as it is considered necessary.

***
It is no surprise then, as we noted previously, judging by the recent polls, the rise of extreme populist groups in Sweden is accelerating fast.
As Reuters reports, dozens of people have been killed in the past two years in attacks in the capital Stockholm and other big cities by gangs that are mostly from run-down suburbs dominated by immigrants.
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With public calls growing for tougher policies on crime and immigration, support has risen for the ironically named, Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots that wants to freeze immigration and to hold a referendum on Sweden’s membership of the European Union.
Their worried mainstream rivals have started moving to the right on crime and immigration to try to counter the Sweden Democrats’ threat in the Sept. 9 election. But so far, they are playing into the hands of the far-right.

“Right now they (mainstream parties) are competing over who can set out the most restrictive policies,” said Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lovin, whose Green Party is part of a minority government led by the Social Democratic Party.
“It clearly benefits the Sweden Democrats.”

Opinion polls put the Sweden Democrats on about 20 percent support, up from the 13 percent of votes they secured in the 2014 election and the 5.7 percent which saw them enter parliament for the first time in 2010.
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The Sweden Democrats’ rise on the back of anti-immigration sentiment mirrors gains for right-wing, populist and anti-establishment parties in other European countries such as Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria.
The Sweden Democrats still trail the Social Democratic Party but has overtaken the main opposition Moderates in many polls. All mainstream parties have ruled out working with them.
But they could emerge from the election as kingmakers, and a strong election showing could force the next government to take their views into consideration when shaping policy.
Their policies include a total freeze on asylum seekers and accepting refugees only from Sweden’s neighbors in the future. They also want tougher penalties for crime and more powers for police, and say tax cuts and higher spending on welfare could be funded by cutting the immigration budget.
Jimmie Akesson, the leader of the Sweden Democratic party, has described the situation as “pretty fantastic”.

“We are dominating the debate even though no one will talk to us,” he told party members.

The Sweden Democrats have succeeded in linking the two in the minds of many voters, even though official statistics show no correlation between overall levels of crime and immigration. However, while the government denies it has lost control but Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has not ruled out sending the military into problem areas.

“Sweden is going down a more right-wing path,” said Nick Aylott, a political scientist at Sodertorn University said. “It is almost impossible to avoid according some sort of influence to a party with around 20 percent of the vote.”

Trump was right after all.


https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...eden-overnight

Sweden has a big open mind for immigration ,today they must be sorry.

Far-right poised for big wins in Sweden...

03 September 2018 - 03H29

Far-right poised for big wins in Sweden election

https://scd.france24.com/en/files/im...c10659a453.jpg © TT News Agency/AFP | Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Akesson is poised to see his far-right party make the biggest gains in general elections on September 9. STOCKHOLM (AFP) - The anti-immigration far-right is expected to soar in Sweden's September 9 general election, capitalising on voter discontent as Swedes punish traditional parties over immigration, integration and health care.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's Social Democrats, who have dominated Swedish politics since the 1930s, will remain the biggest party in the country but likely with a record low score, polls suggest.
The far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) are heading to make the most gains and come in a close second, followed by the conservative Moderates.

A Skop institute poll published on Sunday, a week before the election, credited the Social Democrats with 23.8 percent of support, compared with 31 percent in the 2014 election; SD with 20 percent, up from 13 percent in 2014; and the Moderates with 17 percent, down from 23 percent.
Speaking to AFP after a campaign rally outside Stockholm on Sunday, Lofven criticised the former centre-right government in power from 2006-2014 for having "decreased taxes the most for the richest and decreased resources to our welfare" system.
"We have shifted that, we have invested a lot in our welfare system, in our schools, in our hospitals... Investing in our welfare is the right direction."
Sweden is known as a pioneer in fields ranging from equality to environmentalism and women's and children's rights. It has been hailed for its transparency, consensus-building, strong business climate, low crime and tolerant society.
So what happened that made it possible for a party like SD, with roots in the neo-Nazi movement, to "impose its agenda", as Gothenburg University political science professor Ulf Bjereld put it.
Visitors to Sweden in 2018 will still see young dads on paternity leave pushing prams, and helmeted cyclists biking through clean, tranquil and picturesque cities.
But this year's election campaign posters signal a change of tone in the public debate: "No to Prayer Calls", "Speak Swedish to become Swedish", and "Hate or Debate?".
Neither Lofven's left-wing bloc nor the centre-right four-party Alliance are seen winning a majority. And both blocs have ruled out a collaboration with the far-right.
With a parliamentary deadlock in sight, no one can predict what the next government will look like.
Thorny, drawn-out negotiations are expected after the election, with most political analysts agreeing Sweden will end up with a weak minority government.
- Protest vote -
While SD has no chance of entering government as long as the other parties refuse to reconsider its pariah status, it will nonetheless wield strong influence, holding key positions on parliamentary committees that draft legislation.
"We're going to lay out our conditions and push our position on ... immigration policy, crime-fighting, and health care," SD leader Jimmie Akesson told AFP in the final stretch of campaigning.
Akesson's party has been siphoning voters primarily from the Moderates, but also from the Social Democrats with its voter base traditionally heavily anchored in the Trade Union Confederation (LO).
In rural areas -- far from Sweden's growth and innovation hubs -- rising numbers have been seduced by SD's nationalist rhetoric.
Up to a third of LO members could vote for SD, polls suggest.
"They often work in the transport and construction sectors which employ a lot of European workers on (their home countries') minimum wage," Lund University sociologist Anders Kjellberg said.
"Those salaries are much lower than the salaries set by (Sweden's) collective wage bargaining agreements," he said.
Average wage-earners, pensioners and first-time voters: many of those who would in the past have voted for the Social Democrats now accuse Lofven of compromising their cherished welfare state by welcoming so many asylum seekers, whom they see "as an economic and cultural threat," says Stockholm University sociology professor Jens Rydgren.
A country of 10 million people, Sweden has welcomed 400,000 asylum seekers since 2012, first under the centre-right government of Fredrik Reinfeldt and then under Lofven's centre-left administration.
LO head Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson has warned that since SD has no chance of entering government, a vote for the far-right is a vote lost by the Social Democrats -- and therefore "a vote for the right".
- Identity crisis -
After Sweden's eight years under a centre-right government, Lofven took power in 2014 as a unifier reconciling, in true Swedish social democratic fashion, business competitiveness and social justice.
Four years later, Lofven's report card is mixed.
Unemployment is at its lowest in 10 years, economic growth is robust, inflation is contained and public finances are strong.
But Swedes are dissatisfied with long health care queues, growing social inequalities and mounting segregation, with gangland shootings claiming 40 lives in disadvantaged suburbs last year.
"The balance of power has shifted, because of the EU, globalisation and digitalisation, and the Social Democrats are no longer able to keep their promises," Sweden's paper of reference Dagens Nyheter wrote recently.

© 2018 AFP


https://www.france24.com/en/20180903...weden-election

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb-Ce4Woe4o

Youtube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb-Ce4Woe4o

Nationalist Right Poised for Big Wins in Sweden Election!!!!

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https://yt3.ggpht.com/a-/ACSszfF-fad...ffffff-rj-k-noDr. Steve Turley
Published on Sep 3, 2018

The Sweden Democrats look to dominate the September 9th election!!!

A world of strong nations is a peaceful world.

Immigration, welfare fears merge as Sweden lurches to right...

The architect...

Immigration and welfare fears merge as Sweden lurches to the right

Simon Johnson, Johan Sennero
8 Min Read

KOPPARBERG, Sweden (Reuters) - Those wondering why Swedish politics are set to lurch to the right in Sunday’s election need look no further than Ljusnarsberg, a tiny central county of dense pine forests and glistening lakes.

The abandoned Stallberg Mine in Stalldalen, Sweden June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Christopher Johnson

Many inhabitants of this once-booming region are uneasy about asylum seekers after a large number arrived here in 2015. Some also feel that Sweden’s widely admired tax and welfare model has left them behind.
Fears over globalization’s effect on industrial jobs, the pressure of an aging population and a failure to integrate minorities have boosted right-wing and anti-establishment parties from Italy and Germany to Britain and the United States.
Polls indicating one in five voters in Sweden are likely to back a party with roots in the far-right fringe on Sept. 9 show that even seemingly successful political systems are vulnerable.
Several online surveys indicate the anti-immigration, anti-European Union Sweden Democrats could become the largest party, overtaking the Social Democrats, who have dominated politics for the last 100 years.
They are likely to do particularly well in Ljusnarsberg where they won a quarter of the vote in 2014, double their national score.
(Sweden Election graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2LmSZFD)
(Swedish economy snapshot: tmsnrt.rs/2bylYpf)
“I think people here want to see a change, they want society to be like it used to be,” said Mats Larsson, the Sweden Democrat’s top politician in Ljusnarsberg.
Most people in the county live in Kopparberg, where the 17th century church, with its blood-red, wooden facade and spires, hints at the region’s rich past, built on copper and iron mines.
For many years, the area was a heartland of the ruling Social Democrats. Its swing to the right highlights election themes of asylum and a split between poor rural or suburban areas home to immigrants and wealthy places like Stockholm.
Ljusnarsberg’s mines have gone - the last closed in the mid-1970s. Unemployment at the end of last year was nearly 13 percent, almost double the national level. Many live on sickness benefits, masking the figures of those relying on welfare.
As jobs have disappeared, so have people. The population has roughly halved in the last 50 years and many services have been centralized to Orebro, an hour’s drive south of Kopparberg.
An abandoned house is seen in Kopparberg, Sweden June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Christopher Johnson

“The 1970s and 1980s were a fantastic time to grow up here in this county. Now everything is falling to pieces,” said Leif Danielsson, 53, a businessman in Kopparberg, the county’s only sizable town.
“Houses are rotting, some places are overgrown with weeds. If you have any education or contacts, you leave.”
While Kopparberg retained its health clinic, it has been unable to recruit permanent doctors, with temporary staff filling the gap.
Decades of closures have left Kyrkbacks school in Kopparberg as the only school for 6-15 year-olds in the region. It has also had problems recruiting staff and was rated as one of Sweden’s worst by the teachers’ union, long before asylum numbers jumped.
STRETCHED SERVICES

When Sweden took in 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 as hundreds of thousands fled war in Syria and Afghanistan, Ljusnarsberg was assigned around 1,200, the highest concentration compared with its population.
Many of the new arrivals were unaccompanied minors, and the influx stretched services to the limit.
Anne-Marie Hagglund, assistant headteacher of Kyrkbacks school, said families just showed up with their migration papers. “They came back day after day until we could take in their children,” she said.
All but 260 of the refugees have now gone - mostly assigned to other areas by the Migration Agency - yet the unease remains.
Sitting in a cafe on the town green in Kopparberg, personal assistant Ulrika, 44, said that since the arrival of so many asylum seekers, women are afraid to walk the streets at night.
“There are lots of robberies. I think a lot of it is to do with immigration,” she said, declining to give her surname.
Police say the number of reported crimes fell in 2017 compared to the previous year, though they admit that many crimes go unreported. After cutbacks, the nearest police station is in Lindesberg, 40 km away.
“Of course, we should help people,” said Staffan Myrman, 53, who works at the Kopparberg brewery, one of the two major employers in the Ljusnarsberg region.
“But when 25-30 percent of the population are refugees, we need to be able to cope with that and we can’t.”
Slideshow (5 Images)

Sweden took in more asylum seekers than any other European country per capita in 2015. But while worries over immigration explain some of the Sweden Democrat’s gains, unease about economic and social change also plays a role.
“It is a target to point your anger at,” said Ljusnarsberg Liberal party politician Hendrik Bijloo. “Of course there are racists voting for the Sweden Democrats, but they are not even close to a majority.”
REFERENDUM ON WELFARE?

It is not just rural areas like Ljusnarsberg where the Sweden Democrats have thrived.
A spate of gang killings and car-burnings have sharpened concerns that authorities are losing control in poorer city suburbs where immigrants make up the majority of the population.
But welfare is also a big theme, despite that fact that Sweden is one of Europe’s richest countries, with strong growth and low unemployment.
“This election is a referendum on welfare or whether we have continued asylum immigration. I choose welfare,” Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson said in a televised election debate.
The center-left government and main opposition Moderate Party both plan to spend an extra 20 billion Swedish crowns ($2.19 billion) over the next four years.
Despite those plans, and already higher spending, many Swedes believe the welfare system is in crisis.
Sweden scores highly in the quality of healthcare - for example more Swedes are alive 30 days after a heart attack than in other European countries, according to a 2015 study.
But a growing and ageing population means waiting lists for operations have grown and half of health centers have to cover doctor shortages with temporary staff, according to a report by the Swedish Agency for Health and Care Services Analysis.
Since 2000, 16 percent of maternity units have closed, a Swedish television report showed. Many women travel more than 100 km (62 miles) to give birth, while schools need to recruit around 77,000 teachers over the next five years.
Inequality, measured by the Gini coefficient, has grown faster in recent years in Sweden than in any other industrialized nation, although the country remains among those where income is most evenly distributed.
This partly explains why mainstream parties’ shift to tougher immigration policies after the 2015 crisis has failed to win back disillusioned voters.
Many locals in Ljusnarsberg are resentful about what they see as preferential treatment for immigrants.
“They get a better deal, all of them, at the dentist, with the doctor, they are first in the queue always,” said 65-year-old pensioner Torbjorn Lundgren. “That makes me angry.”
Asylum seekers get subsidized welfare, housing and 71 crowns ($7.79) a day for food and other essentials, including healthcare. Healthcare costs are capped at 400 crowns over a 12 month period. For Swedish citizens the cap is 1,100 crowns.
“It’s not the immigrants fault, it’s the politicians,” said pensioner Torbjorn Lundgren, who backs the Sweden Democrats.
“I’m going to vote for them, then we’ll see if things change or not.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKCN1LL0Z4

Quote:

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Originally Posted by European Knight

Sweden has a big open mind for immigration ,today they must be sorry.

---

Yep, much like we've been doing, they brought the problem on themselves. Places like Sweden and Germany are our future if we keep going down the immigration sinkhole like we have been over the last several decades.

Are Feminists Aiding Muslim Domination?

Eileen F. Toplansky

Sweden shows how feminists, in labeling all men as aggressors to be feared, let the Muslim immigrants doing all the aggressing off the hook.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...mo_kuCRA3xV6VK

WEEKEND: Far-right seen surging as Swedish election outcome uncertain...

Leader receives death threat...

Panic Grips Establishment...

Sunday's Vote Could Snap Swedes out of Their Stockholm Syndrome

Swedes are set to vote Sunday. Soon the world may view another example of citizens frustrated by arrogant politicians and bureaucrats upending the status quo.

September 8, 2018

Sunday's Vote Could Snap Swedes out of Their Stockholm Syndrome

By Charles Ortel

Swedes are set to vote Sunday, and soon the world may view another example of citizens frustrated by arrogant politicians and bureaucrats upending the status quo and changing the landscape of a rich country whose leaders manifestly have failed the working class. For in truth, Sweden is burning, physically and figuratively. This reality is known better outside that country, because pro-globalist elites in Sweden work so hard to obscure brutal crimes and dislocations that occur as too many unvetted immigrants sweep into their generous nation.
But it is not simply burning cars, and savage assaults that capture the concern of Swedish citizens and international observers. An expensive, thirty year experiment in Sweden promoting global governance and attacking world problems has certainly helped Swedish elites, but many voters see more financial harm than benefit for themselves.
So, in mere days, the Swedish electorate will speak, and rumblings emanating various ways suggest that parties and politicians long in control of the government will suffer erosion in their influence. How much power will a right-leaning party – Sweden Democrats – win at the ballot box, and what roles might candidates in this party play either supporting or obstructing the coalition government destined to emerge after September 9, 2018?
How closely will voters examine the qualifications and backgrounds of candidates for office, including their criminal records, if any, and the stated goals of their political parties concerning Sweden and regarding the wider world?
These major questions and looming answers must be seen in context.
Sparks Igniting Political Changes
In February 2017, when newly inaugurated President Trump drew attention to Tucker Carlson's Fox News special on Sweden's mounting problems with immigration policies, most critics around the world scoffed.
So, who was correct?
Months later, on April 7, 2017, an asylum-seeker killed five persons, and injured many more. These are the brutal losses that can be seen and measured. How many more minds were wounded then, and how many still suffer from deep, lasting anxieties knowing there may no longer be safe spaces left in once-serene Sweden, especially for children and for grandchildren?
Lax vetting of visitors and immigrants is a poor choice for governments in rich nations. Evidently, the ancient lesson of the "Trojan horse" is one casualty of trends in education. When will we start learning from history, recent and long past?
For years, the Swedish police, government officials, mainstream "journalists," local educators and think-tankers did their best to cover up tragic incidents where newly settled immigrants committed violent crimes against persons and against property inside Sweden.
Much has changed following events in 2017 and then on August 14, 2018, when roving bands of black-clad youths overturned and burned vehicles in Gothenburg and several additional Swedish cities. Even Sweden's Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, had to admit publicly that he was outraged over violent attacks that seemed coordinated almost with military precision.
As in other nations, crime statistics in Sweden apparently are not tracked carefully enough to catalog socio-economic characteristics of attackers and victims. Moreover, concerns arise whether crimes against the vulnerable are accurately reported in "No-Go" zones scattered across Sweden that are chiefly populated by immigrants.
Yet, evidence is unmistakable that immigrants streamed into Sweden to take advantage of taxpayer-funded financial benefits that are not available in the war-torn, economically depressed zones whence immigrants originate. Sadly, in too many cases these immigrants exhibited little interest in assimilating peaceably, and instead attacked their economic benefactors.
Long-time residents and visitors to Sweden understand that welcoming numerous immigrants who despise secular society and reject Swedish cultural norms entails profound risks.
Do Swedes really wish to inhabit a globalist world, where artificial borders unfairly deny fair access to Sweden to fellow world citizens living in economically depressed or politically challenging conditions? Are Swedes required to welcome and subsidize all immigrants, even those who may despise secular government, and local mores?
As challenging as Sweden's immigration problems are in September 2018, they seem to be symptoms of deeper concerns. Sending all unvetted immigrants back to their countries of origin would still leave Swedish workers as cogs in a globalist wheel of misfortune, where their wages may be crushed by cheaper human or machine alternatives.
Regulated Nationalism or Unregulated Globalism?
For 30 years, from 1989 to the present, the Swedish people have been in thrall to elites who tirelessly sell virtues of "globalism."
Considering who may actually benefit from submitting to globalist impulses, American observers need to understand that Sweden's economy is remarkably different from ours: Sweden's businesses are much more dependent on foreign customers. For example, in 2016, exports from Sweden were $228 billion. This figure is equal in size to the internal Swedish market for household goods and services (consumption). In contrast, American exports of $2,296 billion were just 17% of household consumption during 2016. Without export sales, many Swedish companies would experience substantial economic losses. Whereas, American companies, even now, can still thrive catering primarily to our large, vibrant home market.
So, it is easy to understand why Swedish politicians would embrace globalism, thinking that doing so might help Swedish multinational companies and their employees to promote export sales. And yes, large corporations there have indeed thrived – many Swedish-branded products sell across the world, and some private sector employees earn incomes that allow families to live well, even to save.
Academics, think-tankers, and writers in Sweden also have flourished while promoting unregulated globalism. But the people who have suffered are those in the private sector whose jobs and incomes stand ever more at risk. Despite abundant evidence that globalist policies failed to lift wages for private sector workers in richer nations, Swedish voters, until now, continue to elect pro-globalist governments, and in so doing exhibit classic signs of "Stockholm Syndrome," a condition that Merriam Webster's dictionary defines as "the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor."
Will Swedish voters escape their captors and chart a new, more productive course for Sweden's workers and entrepreneurs?
Will Sweden become safe again?
Soon, the world shall see.

Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/arti...#ixzz5QVHjWI3L
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Swedes Vote In Most Important Election In Years - "Messy Surprises" Await

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...?itok=chmmb_IJ

All eyes will be on whether the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) can emerge as the largest single party in a country known for its high quality of life and developed welfare state.

Sun, 09/09/2018 - 10:17

Today Swedish voters take to the polls to elect members of the domestic legislature (Riksdag) which will in turn, appoint the Prime Minister, in what has been tipped as "Sweden's most important election in decades." Surveys show the center-left bloc with a slim lead but the far-right Sweden Democrats may still emerge as the largest single party.
As Reuters notes, the Sweden Democrats are bidding to become the biggest populist party in the Nordic region, topping the Danish People’s Party, which gained 21 percent in 2015, and trump the 12.6 percent for the far-right Alternative for Germany, which swept into the Bundestag last year. Sweden took in more asylum seekers per capita than any other country in Europe in 2015, magnifying worries about a welfare system that many voters already believe is in crisis.
And with an eye on the European Parliament elections next year, Brussels policymakers are watching the Swedish vote closely, concerned that a nation with impeccable democratic credentials could add to the growing chorus of euroscepticism in the EU.
As the turbulent Swedish election campaign comes to a close with little sign of compromise ahead as the establishment parties pleaded with voters to beat back an ascendant nationalist movement, there is the potential for a blockbuster surprise as yet another European state is rocked by growing populist, anti-immigrant sentiment.

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...rliament_0.jpg

The reason: record immigration in recent years and lingering economic hardship from the financial crisis have stoked populism even in a country as rich and egalitarian Sweden. The threat to the political establishment comes on the heels of a wave of election surprises around the world, such as the U.K. Brexit vote, and the rise of populist leaders in countries such as Italy and Hungary and - of course - the U.S.
As Deutsche Bank recently noted, "the Liberal world order is in jeopardy" as global populism has risen to levels not seen since World War II.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...sm%20index.jpg
Today, it may be Sweden's turn.
First, a quick recap of today's process, courtesy of RanSquawk
MPs are elected to Sweden’s single-chamber system using proportional representation with candidates either appointed on a regional basis or a proportional balancing mechanism. A party must receive at least 4% of the national vote or 12% of a constituency vote to enter the Riksdag.
With regards to appointing a PM, the leader of any party that wins over 50% is appointed as PM. However, this is unlikely to be the case given polling data and historical performance. As such, the appointment of a PM will most likely be as the result of a coalition-building process.
As shown in the chart below, the center-right and center-left blocs were in a virtual tie with voting starting on Sunday as the conservative-led opposition gained ground in recent days. But the blocs will be far from securing a majority since the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats look poised to win almost 20 percent.
Parties and Potential Coalition Options
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...s%20sweden.jpg



Neither government nor opposition looks likely to gain a majority
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...ks_share_1.png
While the center left and right have minimal policy differences, the disruptive force in Swedish politics has been the meteoric rise of the Sweden Democrats. They hold stances that include Euroscepticism, saying that Sweden “pay an enormous amount of money and get overwhelmingly little back” alongside repeatedly calling for a referendum on EU membership. All Swedish parties have ostracized them in parliament due to this, alongside their harsh immigration policies.
Polls by party
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...eden_polls.png
The success in polling for the Sweden Democrats, allied with the Social Democrats and Moderates polling at record lows, leaves a high possibility for a messy election season due to government formation concerns and the lack of cross-party cooperation in parliament.
As a note of caution with regards to polling, Nordea highlight that “pollsters are divided on the anticipated support for SD, but two pollsters (Sentio and YouGov) stand out with much bigger anticipated support for SD than the rest of the field”. Nordea explains that “If Sentio and YouGov are ‘on to something’ and SD gets close to 25% of the votes, the election result could have a big impact on markets”
However, the true consequences of the election may take a while to filter through to markets (Italy is a good comparison from recent history!) as ING expect the formation of a new government and budget for 2018 “easily taking up the rest of the year”. The possibility of a second election also cannot be discounted, as was almost the case in 2014, and would extend this period of uncertainty into 2019.
That said, ultimately, Swedish fiscal legislature limits major changes, regardless of governmental composition as there is a legal requirement to run a surplus of 0.33% of GDP over the economic cycle and keep debt anchored around 35% of GDP. This, allied with a lack of support in the Swedish populace for leaving the EU (below 25%), the likelihood of a weak minority government, and opposition to joining the EUR (less than 20%) leaves analysts expecting a maintenance of the status-quo in relation to fiscal and policy status.
Market views of the election outcome
ING: Hold a bearish view on SEK post-election, citing the possibility of a hung parliament, a dovish Riksbank, a slowing Swedish economy and the looming trade war threat on the open Swedish economy. As such they see EURSEK hitting 11.00 at some point this year, with a recovery seen in 2019.
Credit Agricole: Expect only short-term volatility in EURSEK and see it trading nearer 10.10 by year-end, as well as saying that at best it may trigger a small delay to the Riksbank’s outlook.
Danske Bank: Hold a bearish view on the SEK, based on the election, Riksbank and inflation. Danske holds a 1-month target (as of Aug 24th) of 10.50 and a 3-month target of 10.60; both of the levels were breached last month.
Goldman Sachs: GS believe that the market response to the election is likely to be contained, adding that any possible spikes in market prices are unlikely to be persistent. GS suggests that if polling is correct, the largest bloc from the main two blocs will form a government and repeat the political dynamics over the past four years.
Nordea: Have recently closed their long EUR/SEK position and have instead decided to go short. The call was largely based on the potential for a hawkish read to the upcoming Riksbank meeting. However, Nordea adds that they believe the upcoming general election is overstated as a macro driver and look for a potential unwind of ‘SD hedges’ after the results are released.
Election Day

• Polls in Sweden opened at 8 a.m. local time (0600 UTC). Voters will be casting their votes Sunday in three separate ballots: The general election, regional elections and local elections. As many as 3 million Swedes are estimated to have already cast their ballot last month, when pre-voting opened on August 22. A handful of leading candidates used the opportunity to skip the queues, including incumbent Prime Minister Stefan Lofven of the Social Democrats (SAP).
• All eyes will be on whether the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) can emerge as the largest single party in a country known for its high quality of life and developed welfare state. Surveys suggest the SD could take around 20 percent of the vote, well above the 13 percent it scored in the previous election in 2014.
• Overall, the polls predict political gridlock. The left-wing bloc, made up of the Social Democrats and Left Party, was backed by almost 40 percent of the vote, while the four-party center-right Alliance trailed narrowly behind on 38.5 percent. That means some form of "grand coalition" between the center-left and the Alliance may be necessary to break the deadlock, unless one of the groups agrees to govern with the Sweden Democrats.

* * *
As Bloomberg notes, establishment party leaders took the last moments of the campaign to warn voters that the political turbulence will be far from over come election day, and that they can expect hard talks in the days or weeks ahead on forming a viable government. All parties have vowed not to seek the support of the Sweden Democrats. The tension has showed no signs of subsiding, with an eruption of vitriol between the smaller pro-immigration Center Party and the nationalists in Friday’s last big debate of the campaign.
Center Party leader Annie Loof voiced loud protests as Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said that immigrants find it hard to get jobs because they’re not Swedish and “don’t belong.” Asked again about the controversy on Saturday, Loof said that Akesson showed “his true face yesterday.”
But Loof also said that Prime Minister Stefan Lofven should step down immediately if it becomes clear his Social Democrats have lost power, in order not to slow down the process of forming a new government. “If he steps down tonight that process could start tomorrow morning,” she told newspaper Expressen. “If he doesn’t resign, we will vote him down in a couple of weeks."
Ulf Kristersson, head of the conservative Moderate Party and front-runner to become the next prime minister, said integrating refugees is key for Sweden to maintain its extensive welfare state. “This is something that erodes Sweden’s social contract,” he said. “So many people could do so much good in our country, if we just had a well-functioning integration.”
On the other hand, the angry response to Sweden's immigration problem is precisely why the country's nationalist movement is ascendent, as the labor market has had a tough time absorbing the inflow of about 600,000 people over the past five years. Unemployment among the foreign-born is about 20 percent, compared with just above 6 percent overall. This has led to a surge in violence in the past few years, much of it at the hands of recent immigrants.
Saying he had slept well, Prime Minister Lofven - whose political career may end as soon as today - early on Sunday left the prime minister’s residence in central Stockholm to go vote with his wife, Ulla. After casting his ballot, he reiterated that the election amounted to a referendum on the welfare system. It’s also a vote “about decency” with the Social Democrats as a guarantor of not allowing an “extremist racist” party to gain influence, he said to reporters.
While mainstream politicians have so far refused to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats, with some kind of cooperation between parties in the center-left and center-right blocs the only other alternative to the current political deadlock, analysts believe that Akesson may yet end up with some influence on policy. Akesson has promised to sink any government that refuses to give his party a say in policy, particularly on immigration.
And with deadlock looming, it could take weeks to form a government.
Voting stations close at 1800 GMT, with exit polls set be published by Sweden’s two main broadcasters. Results from the vote will become clear later in the evening.
We now await the results.



https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...urprises-await

Sweden Set For Gridlock After Inconclusive Election; PM Lovfen Says He'll Remain In Power

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...?itok=HD6W89p6

Sweden prepares for political gridlock after an inconclusive election, with Prime Minister Stefan Lofven saying in a defiant speech he'll remain at least until parliament opens in two weeks.

Sun, 09/09/2018 - 18:58

Update 2: Sweden prepares for political gridlock after an inconclusive election resulting in what may be month of uncertainty about the fate of the current government, even as Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in a defiant speech he'll remain at least until parliament opens in two weeks, rejecting calls for his resignation.
His Social Democrats will remain the biggest party, with their Red-Green coalition controlling 144 seats of 349, which however is a sharp drop from the 159 they received in the 2014 election; The Opposition alliance has 142.
Earlier, Swedish center-right opposition leader Ulf Kristersson called on Lofven to step down on Sunday after preliminary election results showed his opposition Alliance coalition in a virtual dead heat with its center-left rivals. “This government has run its course,” Kristersson told a party rally, referring to Lofven’s minority cabinet. “Now it should resign.”
Meanwhile, the far-right Sweden Democrats improved to 63 from 49 four years ago, but fell short of expectations based on pre-election polling.
Absent a major political breakthrough between the two ruling and opposition coalitions, the key events to watch next is December 24, when another snap election may be called.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...%20timline.jpg

The krona was steady against the euro in early Asia trading, with some speculating that a short squeeze could send the currency higher as the election outcome was better than some of the worst-case scenarios that had been floated.
* * *
Update: Sweden’s ruling center-left bloc managed to recover from its exit poll weakness and is now commanding a marginal lead over the center-right Alliance in Sunday’s national election with the unaligned, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats making gains.
With 4,920 of 6,004 districts counted, the ruling red-green political bloc gets 144 of parliament’s 349 seats; the center-right opposition Alliance gets 142 of parliament’s 349 seats; while the populist Sweden Democrats get 63 seats
Here are the preliminary results versus the 2014 election results:
Red-greens get 144 parliament seats vs 159 in 2014

• Social Democrats get 100 seats vs 113
• Left Party gets 28 seats vs 21
• Green Party gets 16 seats vs 25

Alliance opposition gets 142 vs 141

• Moderate Party gets 69 vs 84
• Center Party gets 31 vs 22
• Liberals get 19 vs 19
• Christian Democrats get 23 vs 16

Sweden Democrats get 63 vs 49

More notably, with 74% of districts counted, the Sweden Democrat lead has dwindled from just under 20%, and was now at 17.7%. It's still poised to climb from 12.9% in 2014, though. If these results hold it will be a bit of a relief for the Social Democrats, although as Bloomberg notes, getting around 28% would still be the worst result in that party's history.


https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...20%2810%29.jpg
* * *
The first exit poll from Sweden's SVT is out, and while it has been deemed "too close to call", the initial results may present a headache for Sweden's establishment - and Brussels - as they show Sweden's four-party opposition with 39.6% of the vote, while the red-green block of government parties including the Social Democrats and Green and their Left Party ally, just behind, with 39.4% of the vote, a remarkable if expected decline from the 2014 election.

The full details from the SVT exit poll, via Bloomberg, which has called the results a "dead heat":
Red-green block (39.4%):

• Social Democrats backed by 26.2% vs 31% in 2014 election
• Left Party supported by 9.0% vs 5.7%
• Green Party backed by 4.2% vs 6.9%

Four-party alliance opposition (39.6%)

• Moderate Party supported by 17.8% vs 23.3%
• Center Party supported by 8.9% vs 6.1%
• Liberals backed by 5.5% vs 5.4%
• Christian Democrats backed by 7.4% vs 4.6%

Meanwhile, the nationalist Sweden Democrat party which has been the center of attention in this election, is said to be backed by 19.2% of the vote, largely in line with preliminary polling, and a 50% surge from the party's 12.9% result in the 2014 election, if below the 20% psychological level which many had kept a close eye on.

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...2018-09-09.jpg

If results hold, the Sweden Democrats would become bigger than the Moderate Party and be the second largest party in parliament. And while none of the established parties have indicated they want to work with the SD, it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Furthermore, as we noted earlier, analysts believe that 39-year-old party leader Jimmie Akesson will likely end up with some influence on policy. Ahead of the election, Akesson had promised to sink any government that refuses to give his party a say in policy, particularly on immigration.

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...%20%281%29.jpg

Meanwhile, in yet another disaster for Europe's establishment, the Social Democrats' result of 26.2% would be the worst since general voting started in 1921. And, as Bloomberg notes, it's pretty clear that the Alliance opposition would try to form a government with a result like this.

Europe Elects‏ @EuropeElects

Sweden, SVT exit poll: S-S&D: 26.2% SD-ECR: 19.2% M-EPP: 17.8% V-LEFT: 9.0% C-ALDE: 8.9% KD-EPP: 7.4% MP-G/EFA: 4.2% L-ALDE: 5.5% Sample size: 10,000-15,000 #valet2018https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags/Swed...ction_2018.png #val2018https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags/Swed...ction_2018.png #swedenelection

11:03 AM - 9 Sep 2018

As Bloomberg notes, Tobias Baudin, who is the head of Sweden's municipal workers union, Kommunal, tried to put a positive spin on the exit polls (his union backs the Social Democrats).

"It’s clear that the biggest losers, if this result were to be true, are the Moderates. The Green Party is close to the threshold. But Stefan Lofven still leads the biggest party, the party that is trusted by most Swedes."

So while we wait for the official results, it's going to be a long night in Stockholm.
As a reminder, since for now it appears that there won't be a clear winner, in terms of what happens next, if Prime Minister Lofven doesn’t resign based on these results he will face a confidence vote in parliament two weeks after the election. Then, if he loses, the speaker will present a new candidate for prime minister to parliament. Historically, the speaker has never had to present more than one government alternative, the first proposal has always been accepted according to Bloomberg.

Parties will have a maximum of four attempts to form a government, otherwise a new election will be held within three months. A new government, or a Lofven II-cabinet, will need to present a budget to parliament within three weeks of assuming office, Nov. 15 at the latest, while a budget vote will be held in December.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...too-close-call

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvaMPDRJSDI

Youtube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvaMPDRJSDI

Sweden Elections: Nationalist Right Surge Forces Political Realignment!!!

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https://yt3.ggpht.com/a-/AN66SAzcqq1...ffffff-rj-k-noDr. Steve Turley
Published on Sep 10, 2018

Here’s why the Sweden Democrats were the REAL WINNERS in yesterday’s elections!!!

In Sweden, Europe’s Drift To The Right Continues

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...&itok=8JDpD7sd

Regardless of what happens in the end, one thing remains: the drift to the right, which is happening all around Europe, is continuing.

Wed, 09/12/2018 - 03:30
Submitted by Kai Weiss of Mises.org

“Populism” seemed to have suffered a premature death a year ago. Emmanuel Macron had beaten Marine Le Pen in the French presidential elections, Dutch right-winger Geert Wilders had underperformed massively, and the EU had found — or at least thought to have found — new popularity all around Europe. After a turbulent 2016, in which the UK voted to exit the EU, and which saw Donald Trump become US president, everything seemed well again.
Ever since, however, the tide has turned again, and Europe’s drift to the right, coupled with the ongoing demise of center-left parties, has continued. Highlights of the past year included a strong performance by the Alternative für Deutschland in Germany (they are polling second behind Angela Merkel’s CDU right now), a right-wing coalition government in Austria, and the Italian election in March, which saw two “populist” movements come to power together (and since then causing havoc on the European level).
The next blow was just a matter of time, though. It arrived yesterday in the Swedish elections for its Riksdag, i.e., its parliament, the right-wing Swedish Democrats made big gains, ending up in third place with 17.6 percent of the vote, closely following the Moderate Party at 19.8 percent. The strongest party, the Social Democrats remaining first, still lost ground, standing at 28.4 percent which is its worst result since 1908.
While the results need to be taken with caution — the votes of Swedish expats living abroad are not included yet and will only be released sometime this week — it seems clear already: the right-wing “populists” once again performed well. However finding a coalition government will be tough for everyone involved.
The Sweden Democrats (SD) have always been the subject of controversy since their founding. Indeed, this very founding is most problematic: the party was established by fascists and at the beginning deeply aligned with the neo-Nazi movement. But in the nineties, it started to move away from this connection. In the last years, as it has become more popular, the SD has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on racism, which led to several members being expelled.
Today, the Sweden Democrats try to disrupt the status quo and destroy the party duopoly between the Moderates and the Social Democrats. This feeling can easily be seen in what Tobias Andersson, the head of the party’s youth wing, said: “Voters want to see more action. They want to feel something is actually happening, that it is not the same old boring politics.”
At the same time, the SD is a one-issue movement, almost exclusively focusing on immigration — and demanding a much stricter approach to it. Other than that, little is known about the views of the party. On economic policy for instance, the program is a mishmash of rather vague promises: lip service for entrepreneurs and against labor market regulations, taxes should be cut here and there. But at the same time, working conditions in the public sector have to be improved, and unemployment insurance needs to be made compulsory. “Health care must be available all over our country, no matter the size of our wallets,” and “the elderly get a pension they can live off, for real.”
Whenever they don’t have a real policy, they will simply bring in immigration again, such as with the housing crisis (which is supposedly only the fault of refugees). The party itself sees all of this as a positive: “This means that we do not carry either classic right or left policy.” Another interpretation would be that they will advocate for anything which is popular at the ballot box.
As for the next government in Sweden, there is a long negotiating period ahead. And in the most extreme case, new elections, might be in store. No party, as we have seen, holds a majority — and no realistic combination of parties can form a viable coalition (not even the two biggest). Due to the unique political system in Sweden, chances are good that someone gets into power nonetheless.
The reason for this is that in Sweden, minority governments aren’t all that unusual. A minority government wouldn’t need the support of a majority in parliament. Rather, it would only need to prove that not a majority is opposed to it. For instance, a party with 25 percent of the vote could become a minority government as long as another 25 percent don’t actively object to it. Thus, some have argued, there is even a (very small) chance that Annie Lööf from the fourth-place Center Party, despite only having gotten 8.6 percent of the vote, could become the next Prime Minister — this is only due to the fact that she would be the least objectionable candidate for the other parties.
Much more likely, however, is a government which still includes either the Social Democrats or the Moderates. Both have built alliances with other smaller parties and while neither of these alliances have a majority (both stand at 40 percent), it might be — depending on how much those not part of the relative alliance object to it — enough for one of them.
In addition, a minority government of the Moderates with the backing of the SD could be possible. Such a government is already in place in Denmark, where the center-right Venstre is in power with the backing of the further right Danish People’s Party. In exchange for the support, the People’s Party has significant influence on the government’s immigration policy.
In Sweden, this could be similar, the Moderates’ Ulf Kristersson would become Prime Minister. The Moderates would be relatively free in how they would govern, from their low-tax, less-regulation economic policy to their tough stance on law and order. In the meantime, the SD would gain much leverage on the immigration policy of the country. The Moderates excluded such a coalition before the election. But, as we know, in politics these things can quickly change if needed.
Regardless of what happens in the end, one thing remains: the drift to the right, which is happening all around Europe, is continuing. Sweden was thought of as one of the countries where it is most unlikely that “populists” could flourish — it is, after all, the European country which has welcomed most migrants per capita and which has been seen as one of the most inclusive countries in the world by the international community. Still, here we are: the Sweden Democrats are destined to stay a major force in Sweden, while right-wing “populists” continue to gain steam ahead of next year’s European elections.

In Sweden, Europe’s Drift To The Right Continues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnRs01KPHkY

Youtube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnRs01KPHkY

There Was Meddling In The Swedish Election

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https://yt3.ggpht.com/a-/AN66SAyfYit...ffffff-rj-k-noRed Ice TV
Published on Sep 10, 2018

Breakdown of the suspicious details and meddling surrounding the Swedish election.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTKtfwJ9L_Y

Youtube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTKtfwJ9L_Y

Ingrid Carlqvist on how Sweden rigs elections for the left

28,453 views

Yes, Sweden Is A Domino

https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...&itok=7j9aq4aW

Swedes, as Italians or Brazilians, know that meaningful change must today be forced on the reluctant political establishment of “both” sides... If the status quo won’t even admit there is a problem, the problem is insurmountable by usual means.

Thu, 09/13/2018 - 05:00
Authored by Jeffrey Snider via Alhambra Investment Partners,

Over the weekend, another European nation turned toward the populist direction. It was enough to get one’s attention when Italy did it, but Sweden is something else altogether. The country has been long held out as an exemplar of everything that is right with globalization. They have industry, youth, etc. How in the world could another “far right” party score so much?
These elections are, obviously, confusing for the mainstream. UK’s leftist Guardian newspaper declared, Real Story of Sweden’s Election Is Not About March of the Far Right. Meanwhile, Politico Europe said, Why Sweden’s Election Was All About the Rise of the Far Right. The only thing any of them really know is that they despise the “far right.”
I detest these politics, largely because they are wildly unhelpful. The mainstream has walled off all discourse into these neat little boxes. The reason a far simpler explanation can’t be put forward, one that encompasses all these entrenching passions, is the stink of Economics.
Sweden is an economic paradise, we are told, a steady industrial powerhouse. Furthermore, right now, Europe’s economy is booming. Central bank policies, including those pursued by the often aggressive Riksbank, have allegedly succeeded. Vast political disassociation therefore must be about something else.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...-IP-Sweden.png

Except, it’s not. Not really. There will always be extremes. These aren’t typically palatable options because most people want to be in the center. It’s only when the center doesn’t, or can’t, offer plausible, sensible solutions and ideas that extremes however distasteful can become the only realistic options. Swedes, as Italians or Brazilians, know that meaningful change must today be forced on the reluctant political establishment of “both” sides.
If the status quo won’t even admit there is a problem, the problem is insurmountable by usual means. Below is Sweden’s actual status quo, behold the paragon of global manufacturing stability:
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...n-Not-Boom.png
Time and again we see this same pattern all over the world. Economists will have you believe macro history in Europe began with the ECB’s NIRP in 2014, or its QE in 2015. Things are mostly positive since, and in 2017 they were more positive than usual. This is a false sense of economic progress because it omits the wider context that instead declares how each economy, save a few like Germany, has actually shrunk.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...rmany-Boom.png

In fact, the “good times” that began in the second half of 2016 actually prove the opposite case of Europe’s presumed boom. It has been thoroughly lackluster by historical standards . What that says is Europe’s economy, Sweden within the paradigm, is stuck in the same condition as it has been over the last eleven years. It swings between downturns, always “unexpected”, and unusually mild upturns. Nothing more than that.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...y-Not-Boom.png
There is, by virtue of such little absolute progress last year, a clear ceiling on economic growth which is devastating in its own right. What that proves is this economic shrinking is permanent, or at least so long as the status quo is maintained, the one that gets all its economic narratives from the local central bank office.
Following repeated downturns often quite severe this is where the political story isn’t really about the far right or the far left. It’s about Economists who refuse to allow they really, really don’t know what they are doing.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...-Deflation.png
The positive rhetoric surrounding Reflation #3 in Europe was simply mischaracterizing the situation, and mostly out of mainstream desperation. The upturn that began in the middle of 2016, and not because of some delayed reaction to the ECB’s policies, was greater but only in comparison to Reflation #2. This mild difference was predictably attributed to central bank aggressiveness, and then wrongly extrapolated into a full recovery scenario (because Economists and central bankers don’t understand what’s really driving the global economy in either direction).
Thus, Europe, like the rest of the world, is facing the prospects of realizing just how oversold Reflation #3 has been at the same time as the increasing likelihood it has already ended perhaps many months ago.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defa...-EA-19-EE4.png
Industrial Production in Europe, one of the key components to Europe’s 2017 “boom”, has been lower since last November. It tumbled in February following the big eurodollar eruption that resulted in stock market liquidations at the end of January (among other monetary “anomalies”). IP had rebounded somewhat in May 2018, leading many to jump the gun and declare the interruption “transitory” projecting the recovery would then proceed as expected.
However, Eurostat’s update for July 2018 shows now a second consecutive monthly decline since (both June and July). At a seasonally-adjusted index value of 105 in the latest month, that’s lower than April. Lower highs and lower lows.
The politics of Europe, then, are surprisingly simple at the same time they are increasingly terrifying. If Sweden’s economy can’t avoid the same eurodollar-driven upturn/downturn cycling as the rest of the world, what does that project for long-term prospects beyond the economy and beyond Sweden?
In macro terms, we know where this goes. The economy appears to take a step forward, in 2017 employing a slightly elongated gait, but then it falls backward. The result is both an economy that ends up going nowhere as well as repeated confusion among the general population wondering where this boom could possibly be. Mistrust is the least surprising element in all of this.
The real danger is in how all this plays out under the increased social pressures of a shrunken, chronically sick economy where nobody trusts anyone because the status quo just refuses to accept that reality. Central bankers and Economists would rather the world burn than admit they’ve screwed everything up so badly.
The way out is, therefore, right where it’s always been: central banks. Not in the next big central bank idea (that’s just recycling what Japan has already failed at), but in cleaning house and rethinking the whole thing from the ground up. The only question is which breaks first: Economists’ collective conscience, or the political structure?
Once may be random (though it was a really, really big one). Twice is a pattern. Four times? Unassailable proof.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...-sweden-domino