Friday, Jul. 29, 2011

Sweden

On the Ballot

Party: Sweden Democrats
Leader: Jimmie Akesson
Key issues: Immigration, crime, Islam
Seats in Parliament: 20/349

With 5.7% of the votes in the 2010 elections, the Sweden Democrats won seats in parliament for the first time. The party was once more extreme, but in 2001 shed its Nazi trappings — including uniforms and swastikas — to gain mainstream appeal.

Party: Svenskarnas parti (Party of Swedes)
Leader: Daniel Höglund
Key issues: Immigration, crime, multiculturalism
Seats in Parliament: 0/349

In 2010, the party won 2.8% of the vote in the Grastorp municipal election, giving the party its only seat in Sweden. Höglund, who formerly led the Nationalsocialistisk front — or Aryan Brotherhood — took up the councillorship, only to be disqualified because of illegitimate residential status.

On the Fringe

The Swedish Resistance Movement
According to Searchlight, the group, founded in 1996, attracts Sweden's "most violent and pro-terrorist Nazis." Several men associated with the group have been jailed for violence in recent years, including Hampus Hellekant, who served time for the murder of union official Bjorn Soderberg in 1999.