Non-Western immigrants, mainly Muslims living in so-called vulnerable areas, decided the election in Sweden. They turned out en masse at the ballot box and voted for the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet). ‘Marinated in antisemitism, romanticisation of terrorism and Islamism’ is how experts describe the party.
The far left had a resounding success in the Swedish Riksdag election. The far-left Vänsterpartiet was the deciding factor that means Sweden may be heading for a change of government.
In several of the electoral districts encompassing the ‘vulnerable areas’, Vänsterpartiet secured an outright majority and almost doubled its support compared with the 2022 election.
‘Marinated in antisemitism’
The Swedish political scientist Daniel Schatz writes on X: ‘Vänsterpartiet has achieved its best election result in modern times. A party marinated in antisemitism, terror dynamics, Islamism, praise of dictatorships and extremist candidates.’
Schatz is no ordinary figure. He was educated at Lund University and holds a doctorate from Humboldt University in Berlin. He has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Georgetown. He has been an editorial writer and commentator for Svenska Dagbladet, and has published in, among others, the New York Times, The Economist and the Wall Street Journal.
He is a foreign affairs commentator and recently published the book ‘Från Stockholm till Jerusalem: Den okända historien om Sveriges Mellanösternpolitik’ (‘From Stockholm to Jerusalem: The Unknown History of Sweden’s Middle East Policy’), which is based on 15 years of research and more than 100 interviews with key Swedish and international figures.
Socialist Left Party and Red Party
Sweden’s Vänsterpartiet is regarded as a sister party of both the Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti) and the Marxist-Leninist Red Party (Rødt).
If ChatGPT is asked ‘which Norwegian party corresponds to Vänsterpartiet in Swedish politics’, the answer is: SV – closest as an established parliamentary sister party, and Rødt – closest on the economic/radical left.
Schatz highlights the election result in Rinkeby, where Vänsterpartiet is on course to receive 51 per cent of the vote, an increase of fully 22.5 percentage points since the 2022 Riksdag election. The Stockholm district became known in Norway when Sylvi Listhaug visited it and spoke about ‘Swedish conditions’ (svenske tilstander).
The district is known for being dominated by non-Western immigrants, particularly from Islamic countries, and for high crime. This was documented by former NRK journalist Anders Magnus, who also visited the district at the time. At around the same time, the left-wing journalist Harald Klungtveit of the controversial online newspaper Filter Nyheter tried to play down the conditions.
‘Vänsterpartiet’s strong position in Rinkeby resembles Rødt’s voter profile in certain Norwegian areas more than SV’s,’ is the description given by ChatGPT.
This is connected with the high proportion of non-Western immigrants, particularly from Islamic countries, in this district and similar districts throughout Sweden.
Palestine as an election issue proved decisive
‘The Palestine issue has been central to the mobilisation,’ Schatz emphasises.
In several immigrant-dense electoral districts where Vänsterpartiet has campaigned actively, two clear patterns can be seen: voter turnout rises sharply, and V makes enormous gains, of 15–30 percentage points.
‘It raises a legitimate question as to how much of Vänsterpartiet’s advance can be explained precisely by this mobilisation strategy. If I were a Vänsterpartiet supporter, I would not be celebrating the result. I would be ashamed of what the party has done to achieve it,’ Schatz writes.
What emerges clearly is that voters with backgrounds outside Europe were responsible for the dramatic advance of the far left in Sweden.
