The Swedish election votes rolled in recently, and as the parliament is configured there are some notable shifts. The three main parties are the Social Democrats, the Sweden Democrats, and the Moderate Party. The Social Democrats won the most votes as a single party, however, the right-leaning parties won the majority of votes together. The way their government is going to work could go one of two ways, in the most likely situation there’s one party ruling, a mixed government is highly unlikely. Most likely, the Moderate party will choose its own prime minister and be the main governing party after years of a parliament led by the Social Democrats. 

What changes could this bring to Sweden? According to a resident of Sweden, “The biggest changes to the private person will be lower taxes, more affordable gas, etc. but also the country is going to be spending a lot of money on nuclear energy that we don’t have […] Daycare and medicine might very well become expensive.” He also commented on the fact that the party is openly anti-immigrant “The now second biggest party in Sweden is openly hateful towards and wants to hurt immigrant communities […] He (Jimmie Åkesson) believes immigrants are racist towards the Swedish people, so he wants to deport all of them that don’t work.”

The issue of anti-immigration has been a looming threat in Sweden for a while, and Wang Wenbin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson had spoken after the burning of Quran by Rasmus Paludan, “We hope Sweden will draw a lesson from the matter, earnestly respect the religions and beliefs of Muslims and other minority groups.” However, the right has other things in mind now that they are government, Åkesson debated with Goran Hagglund in 2013 and stated “We want an immigration, but a regulated, appropriate immigration so the ones who arrive can get a chance to actually become a part of the Swedish society.” It seems to be well intended; however, words get twisted. In 2016, Åkesson gave a speech where he blames a rise in crime on immigration policy – casting all immigrants as dangerous and criminal.

Sweden is just the latest in a slew of European countries that have recently elected right-wing governments.