Home Politics Swedish Social Democrats’ struggle for relevance

Swedish Social Democrats’ struggle for relevance

by host

ENKÖPING, Sweden — Support for social democracy is crumbling in its spiritual home.

Ahead of an election in Sweden on Sunday, the Social Democrats are scrambling to avoid both their worst result in a century and another blow to Europe’s center left, which also took a battering in ballots in Germany, France and Italy — often to the benefit of the far right.

Earlier this week, party leader and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven was in Enköping, a small town about 40 miles northwest of Stockholm, trying to rally support behind campaign slogans proclaiming a “stronger society and a safer Sweden” and classic party commitments such as more money for health care and pensions.

“When you and I are at our weakest as individuals, then our society should be at its strongest,” he told a crowd in the town square.

Alongside him to offer support was one of a dwindling number of fellow European center-left prime ministers, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez.

The Social Democrats have also struggled because this year’s campaign has been dominated by immigration and law and order — which are not its strengths.

“Stefan’s policies have been an inspiration and an example beyond the boundaries of Sweden,” Sánchez said. “Your economy has grown and your government has been on the front lines against all forms of inequality.”

Löfven could hold on to power after Sunday’s vote, particularly if his likely coalition partners maintain their upward momentum in opinion polls, but fading support for his own party has cast a shadow over the campaign.

The most recent polling from the research company SIFO, published Wednesday, put the center-left bloc of the Social Democrats, Left Party and Greens at 40.6 percent support and the center-right opposition bloc at 39.8 percent. The far-right Sweden Democrats polled at 17.1 percent.

Löfven’s Social Democrats remain the most popular party, but their numbers are falling fast. From 35 percent support in 2006 they fell to 31 percent in 2010 and 2014, and are now polling at around 25 percent.

Löfven, left, was joined on the campaign trail by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez | Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

Analysts cite a variety of reasons for the malaise, among them the decline of blue-collar workplaces where unions and center-left political parties traditionally built loyalty by defending workers’ rights.

As Sweden’s economy has become more high-tech and service-oriented, the Social Democrats’ grip has weakened.

“The decline is part of a European trend, grounded in societal changes where industrial society is fading,” said Ulf Bjereld, a political scientist at Gothenburg University and an active member of the Social Democrats.

In addition, keeping alive the welfare state that the Social Democrats built has become accepted by parties across the Swedish political spectrum and is no longer the exclusive preserve of the center left.

With universal welfare now seen as a given, rivals have been able to win support by championing issues like tighter immigration laws (Sweden Democrats) or the environment (Greens), or reducing the role of private companies in health care and education (Left Party), said Jonas Hinnfors of Gothenburg University.

The Social Democrats have also struggled because this year’s campaign has been dominated by immigration and law and order, which are not its strengths — and while the economy is doing well, it’s hardly featured in the campaign.

“I think they lack a big vision for the future, they just talk about details and small numbers” — Mårten Ambjörnsson, health care consultant, on the Social Democrats

“The immigration and crime focus has been unprecedented,” said Hinnfors.

The issue of border controls shot up the agenda after Sweden’s open-door immigration policy led to the arrival of 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 alone. Meanwhile, a raft of high-profile shootings by criminal gangs in the large cities has led to an increased focus on security.

Deserted by younger voters

In an attempt to shift the focus and reach out to younger voters, the Social Democrats last week promised an extra week of paid leave for parents.

“This is a signal that, in our Sweden, all parents should have the best opportunity to take care of their children,” Löfven said in his speech. He needs more support among the under-50s: the latest SIFO poll showed the Social Democrats registered just 16.7 percent support in that age bracket.

Mårten Ambjörnsson, a 29-year-old health care consultant, watched Löfven speak.

“I’m not that impressed by the Social Democrats,” he said. “I think they lack a big vision for the future, they just talk about details and small numbers.”

He said he hasn’t decided whom to vote for but his friends are more interested in the Left Party or the Green Party.

The imminent election could prove a serious fall from grace for the Social Democrats | Martin Rose/Getty Images

As part of his campaign rally in Enköping, Löfven joined local party representatives to knock on doors in a quiet suburb. He shook hands with residents on their doorsteps and talked with a gang of schoolchildren on bikes who gathered around him and took selfies.

He promised them his party would invest in schools.

The prospect of their worst showing at an election since early last century is a serious fall from grace for the Social Democrats. The party emerged as a political force in the early 20th century, advocating for workers’ rights in factories and teaming up with trade unions to push for a universal right to vote.

Throughout the 20th century, Löfven’s predecessors built the welfare state, providing universal health care and schooling, cheap child care and social housing. They dominated the political landscape, and over time their ideas about social equality became an integral part of Swedish life.

The party benefited from the input of strong and skilful leaders such as Per Albin Hansson, Olof Palme, Ingvar Carlsson and Göran Persson, said Anders Sannerstedt, a political scientist at Lund University.

Migration has become a major electoral issue in Sweden | David Ramos/Getty Images

“But since Persson resigned after the election of 2006, the party’s leaders have not been very successful,” Sannerstedt said.

Support has been on a downward trajectory over the past decade.

When the Social Democrats won 31 percent in 2010, it was widely considered a crisis and the party leader, Mona Sahlin, was replaced. However, two leaders, first Håkan Juholt and now Löfven, have failed to turn things around.

Löfven’s minority government nearly collapsed in 2014 when opposition parties refused to back his budget.

On stage in Enköping, Löfven showed no sign of giving up.

“We are looking forward,” he told the crowd. “We have so much still to do.”


Read this next: The power and potential of the US-EU relationship

You may also like