Swedes Vote In Most Important Election In Years – “Messy Surprises” Await
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Sun, 09/09/2018
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.
The Rest…HERE
