Sweden and the revolt against the evasive elites – spiked
So now we know: nowhere is immune to the populist surge. Not even Sweden. Not even every European liberals favourite welfarist state. Once considered the happy country of Europe, an oasis of technocratic calm in an often unpredictable continent, now even Sweden has been rattled by populism. In last week s election the Sweden Democrats, a right-wing nationalist party, emerged as the second largest party in parliament. And this has shaken not only the political class in Stockholm but liberal elites around the world. It s a dramatic shift , says the New York Times. Astonishing , says Deutsche Welle. An earthquake , insist leftist observers. They sound like the troops of an embattled army watching their last patch of territory be conquered by the enemy.
Sweden has not been a socialist paradise in the snow for quite a while. The situation in Stockholm and other big(-ish) cities in Sweden is way out of control, as is crime. And this is obviously due to its ideologically driven immigration policy. And their public services are just not so hot, which is due to socialist rot. Their universities, I hear, have slid well into mediocrity. It’s not an example of anything to anyone who knows a bit about it, except of things not working the way they were supposed to. No one should be surprised by the rise of populism there. So this talk of a “dramatic shift” is hyperbole at best. Still, it’s good some Swedes are letting their unhappiness be known.