Thread: As Election Looms, Sweden Is Burning Again Tonight

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.

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Swedes Vote In Most Important Election In Years - "Messy Surprises" Await



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.



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.

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




Neither government nor opposition looks likely to gain a majority

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

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



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.


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.



* * *
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.



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.



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 #valet2018 #val2018 #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

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

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

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Dr. 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



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

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

There Was Meddling In The Swedish Election

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Red Ice TV
Published on Sep 10, 2018

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

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

Ingrid Carlqvist on how Sweden rigs elections for the left

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Yes, Sweden Is A Domino



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.


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:

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.


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.

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.

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.

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