Sweden Democrats

The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, and is the second largest party in the Riksdag.

The party describes itself as social conservative with a nationalist foundation. The party has also been variously characterised by academics, political commentators, and media as national-conservative, anti-immigration, anti-Islam, Eurosceptic, and far-right. The Sweden Democrats reject the far-right label, saying that it no longer represents the party's political beliefs. Founded in 1988, the Sweden Democrats originally had its roots in Swedish nazism, as well as white nationalism, but began distancing itself from its past during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Under the leadership of Jimmie Åkesson since 2005, the SD underwent a process of reform by expelling hardline members and moderating its platform. Today, the Sweden Democrats officially reject both fascism and Nazism on their platform.

The Sweden Democrats oppose current Swedish immigration and integration policies, instead supporting stronger restrictions on immigration. The party supports closer cooperation with Nordic countries, but is against further European integration. The Sweden Democrats are critical of multiculturalism and support having a common national and cultural identity, which they believe improves social cohesion. The party supports the Swedish welfare state but is against providing welfare to people who are not Swedish citizens and permanent residents of Sweden, a policy known as welfare chauvinism. The Sweden Democrats support a mixed market economy combining ideas from the centre-left and centre-right. The party supports same-sex marriage, civil unions for gay couples, and sex reassignment surgery but prefers that children be raised in a traditional nuclear family. The Sweden Democrats support keeping Sweden's nuclear power plants in order to mitigate climate change but argues that other countries should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions instead of Sweden, which the party believes is doing enough to reduce their emissions. The Sweden Democrats support generally increasing minimum sentences for crimes, as well as increasing police resources and personnel. The party supports increasing the number of Swedish Army brigades and supports raising Sweden's defense spending. The Sweden Democrats are a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament.

Support for the Sweden Democrats has grown steadily since the 1990s and the party crossed the 4% threshold necessary for parliamentary representation for the first time during the 2010 Swedish general election, polling 5.7% and gaining 20 seats in the Riksdag. This increase in popularity has been compared by international media to other similar anti-immigration movements in Europe. The party received increased support in the 2018 Swedish general election, when it polled 17.5% and secured 62 seats in parliament, becoming the third largest party in Sweden. The Sweden Democrats were formerly isolated in the Riksdag until the late 2010s, with other parties maintaining a policy of refusing cooperation with them. In 2019, the leader of the Christian Democrats, Ebba Busch announced that her party was ready to start negotiations with the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag, as did Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson. In the 2022 Swedish general election, the party ran as part of a broad right-wing alliance with those two parties and the Liberals, and came second overall with 20.5% of the vote. Following the election and the Tidö Agreement, it was negotiated that SD agreed to support a Moderate Party-led government together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, and is the first time SD holds direct influence over the government.

History

Early years (1988–1995)

The Sweden Democrats party was founded in 1988 as a direct successor to the Sweden Party, which in turn had been formed in 1986 by the merger of (BSS; in English: "Keep Sweden Swedish") and a faction of the Swedish Progress Party.Rydgren, 2006, pp. 108–109. SD claims 6 February 1988 as the date of its foundation, although observers tend to see the party's foundation as part of a complex decade-long series of events, with some even calling into question whether a meeting took place on 6 February.

Initially, the party did not have a single centralized leader and was instead fronted by two alternating spokespeople before Anders Klarström became the party's sole official chairman and head of the Sweden Democrats' national board in 1989.

According to '' Expo'', it is generally agreed that the Sweden Democrats have never been a Nazi party, although some of the SD's early members had previously been connected with Swedish fascist and white nationalist groups. The party's first auditor, Gustaf Ekström, was a ''Waffen-SS'' veteran and had been a member of the national socialist party '' Svensk Socialistisk Samling'' in the1940s. The SD's first chairman Anders Klarström had been briefly active in the neo-Nazi ("Nordic Realm Party") as a teenager before claiming to have distanced himself from it by the time he became SD leader.Utan ånger: Gustaf Ekström – SS-veteranen som grundade Sverigedemokraterna. Johan Ulvenlöv, Matti Palm, Anders Larsson, 2017 The SD's logo from the 1990s until 2006 was a version of the torch used by the British National Front. Academic Duncan McDonnell has argued it is debatable as to whether the SD itself was ever explicitly a neo-Nazi movement, but it was widely known to publicly align itself with extreme fringe politics and faced criticism in late 1980s and early 1990s for attracting skinheads to its public events. The SD also encountered controversy for some its early policy ideas before 1990, which included a proposal to repatriate most immigrants who came to Sweden from 1970, banning adoption of foreign born children and reinstating the death penalty.

The party promoted concerts by the Swedish offshoot of Rock Against Communism and sponsored music of the nationalist Viking rock band Ultima Thule. Various party officials today acknowledge that being fans of Ultima Thule's music factored prominently in their decision to become politically engaged. Early on, the party recommended international connections to its members such as the National Democratic Party of Germany, the American National Association for the Advancement of White People (founded by David Duke) and publications like the Nazi ''Nation Europa'' and ''Nouvelle École'', a newspaper that advocates racial biology and the British neo-Nazi Combat 18 movement.

Moderation and growth (1995–2010)

In 1995, Klarström was replaced as party chairman by Mikael Jansson, a former member of the Centre Party. Jansson strove to make the party more respectable and, after skinheads started to impose on party meetings, the wearing of any kind of political uniform was formally banned in 1996. Also in 1996 it was revealed that a party member, Tina Hallgren, had been to a party meeting of National Socialist Front posing in a Nazi uniform. Opposition to the party have mistakenly mixed these two events together and falsely claim that she was wearing the uniform at a rally of the Sweden Democrats and that it was because of this that the uniform ban came about.Rydgren, 2006, p. 108. During the early 1990s, the party became more influenced by the French National Front, as well as the Freedom Party of Austria, the Danish People's Party, German The Republicans and Italian National Alliance. SDreceived economic support for the 1998 election from the French National Front, and became active in Le Pen's Euronat from the same time. By the end of the decade, the party took further steps to moderate itself by softening its policies on immigration and capital punishment. In 1999, the SD left Euronat although the youth wing remained affiliated until 2002. In 2001 the most extreme faction was expelled from the party, leading to the formation of the more radical National Democrats.Rydgren, 2006, p. 109.

During the 2000s the so-called "Scania gang", also known as the "Gang of Four" or "Fantastic Four," which consisted of the youth wing chairman Jimmie Åkesson, as well as Björn Söder, Mattias Karlsson and Richard Jomshof continued and expanded the moderation policy, which included ousting openly extremist members, banning both foreign and Swedish extreme-right activists from attending party events and obtaining membership, and further revising the SD's policy platform. Before the 2002 election, former Moderate Party MP Sten Christer Andersson defected to SD, citing that the party had gotten rid of its extreme-right elements. In 2003 the party declared the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be a cornerstone of its policies. In 2005, Åkesson defeated Jansson in a leadership contest. Shortly after, the party changed its logo from the flaming torch to one featuring an ''Anemone hepatica'', reminiscent of the party's very first, but short-lived, logo (a stylised ''Myosotis scorpioides''). The party also formally introduced a charter against racism and extremism in 2010.

Entrance into parliament (2010–2014)

In the 2010 Swedish general election, SDwon representation in the Swedish Riksdag for the first time, with5.7% of the vote and 20MPs.

Sweden Democrat MP William Petzäll was persuaded to leave the party on 26 September 2011 while still retaining his parliamentary seat. This was done because of Petzäll's substance abuse and the problems this might cause for SD'spublic image. Petzäll later died of an overdose and his seat was turned over to Stellan Bojerud in September 2012.

In November 2012, videos from August 2010 were released, in segments, over the course of three days by Swedish newspaper ''Expressen'' (a year earlier, ''Expressen'' had released the same videos without making much noise). This came to be known as the Iron pipe scandal, although the same videos had already been released on YouTube by Erik Almqvist in 2010. The videos, recorded by MP Kent Ekeroth, featured him along with fellow Sweden Democrats MP Erik Almqvist and Christian Westling. The videos show Almqvist arguing with comedian Soran Ismail: Almqvist is referring to Sweden as "my country, not your country", as an insult to Ismail. They are also shown arguing with a drunken man. A woman can also be seen approaching Kent Ekeroth while filming; he calls her a whore and pushes her out of the way. A few minutes later they are seen picking up iron bars. Coming only a month after party leader Åkesson had instated a zero-tolerance policy towards racism in the party, the release of the video caused Almqvist to leave his position as the party's economic policy spokesperson and his place in the executive committee on 14 November. He excused himself as having been under a lot of pressure and threats of violence at the time. As more segments of the video were released, revealing the other two men's involvement, the party announced on 15 November that Ekeroth would take a break from his position as the party's justice policy spokesman. Almqvist and Ekeroth both took time off from their parliament seats. Sweden Democratic Youth president Gustav Kasselstrand and vice president William Hahne criticised the decision to remove Almqvist and Ekeroth in an op-ed in '' Dagens Nyheter'', arguing that the party should not give in to media pressure.

Only two weeks after Almqvist and Ekeroth were forced to step down, fellow MP Lars Isovaara reported being robbed of his backpack and pushed out of his wheelchair by "two unknown men of an immigrant background". When trying to get into the Riksdag, Isovaara was himself reported by the police for racial abuse against safety guards. The Sweden Democrats initially defended Isovaara, but backed down when ''Expressen'' revealed that Isovaara had actually forgotten his backpack at a restaurant, and that the two men had helped him when he fell out of his wheelchair. He left his seat in the Riksdag on 29 November, and was replaced by Markus Wiechel.

Rise in national support (2014–2018)

In the European election of 2014 SD received 9.67% of votes, winning two seats in the European Parliament and becoming the fifth party of the country. The party later joined the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe and the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group.

In the 2014 election the Sweden Democrats received 12.9%of the votes, doubling their support and becoming the third-largest party. The party remained big in Scania and Blekinge; for example in Malmö the party received 14% of the votes, in Landskrona it received 19% of the votes and in Sjöbo a total of 30% rendering the party the largest in that municipality. Other parties, however, remained firm in their decision to isolate them from exerting influence. Out of 29 constituencies electing parliamentarians, the party was the second largest in "Scania North & East" while being the third largest party in 25. Although relying heavily on rural areas and the deep south, the party also made strong inroads and results above 15% in some medium-sized central Sweden cities such as Norrköping, Eskilstuna and Gävle, indicating a widening of its voter base in all areas.

Some time after that, Åkesson announced he would go on sick leave due to burnout. Mattias Karlsson was appointed to temporarily take over Åkesson's duties as party leader.

On 23 March 2015, it was announced that Åkesson would return from his leave of absence to resume his duties as party leader following an interview to be broadcast on the Friday, 27 March instalment of the ''Skavlan'' program on SVT, and a subsequent press conference with the Swedish media.

Amid media coverage regarding the high immigration figures and the European migrant crisis, the Sweden Democrats soared in all opinion polls during the summer of 2015, even topping web-based polls from YouGov and Sentio in late summer, with a little over a quarter of the vote. The party also saw rising support in phone-based polls, although the swing was lower.

Entering mainstream politics (2018–2022)

In early 2018 Alternative for Sweden was founded by members of the Sweden Democrat Youth, who were collectively expelled from the Sweden Democrats in 2015. Three Sweden Democrat members of the Riksdag, Olle Felten, Jeff Ahl and former leader Mikael Jansson subsequently defected to the party.

On 2 July 2018 the two Sweden Democrats MEPs left the EFDD group and moved to the European Conservatives and Reformists group.

In the 2018 Swedish general election, the SD increased its support to 17.5% of the vote, though it did not grow as much as most polls had predicted. According to Emily Schultheis of '' Foreign Policy'', the SD won an ideological victory, as it "effectively set the terms for debate" and forced its rivals to adopt immigration policies similar to its own, and other reporters made similar observations. The SD performed particularly well in Skåne County, having the highest number of voters in 21 out of the county's 33 municipalities. An SVT analysis of the results found that at least 22 seats in 17 city councils would be empty as the Sweden Democrats won more seats than the number of candidates it had. The party also received its first mayor, in Hörby Municipality.

Following the election, Christian Democratic leader Ebba Busch announced that her party was willing to enter negotiations with the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag. In December 2019, Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson held an official meeting with the Sweden Democrat leadership for the first time, despite having previously ruled out negotiating with the party. This led to speculation that the SD could be included in a new centre-right grouping to replace the Alliance which had collapsed after the Centre Party and the Liberal Party left to support the Social Democratic led government.

In October 2018, the Sweden Democrats went into a governing coalitions with the Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats for the first time in Staffanstorp Municipality, Sölvesborg Municipality, Herrljunga Municipality and Bromölla Municipality. In Bromölla, coalition felt apart in 2020, while new coalitions with the SD emerged in Svalöv Municipality (2019), Bjuv Municipality (2020) and Surahammar Municipality (2021).

In 2020, Mattias Karlsson, the former group leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag founded Oikos, a conservative think-tank which has been alleged to be an "extension of the Sweden Democrats' political project", supposedly also receiving funding from the party.

2022 general election (since 2022)

Ahead of the 2022 Swedish general election, the SD attempted to form a conservative grouping with the Moderates, Christian Democrats and the Liberals and requested ministerial posts in government should the right-wing bloc form a parliamentary majority. During the election, the SD campaigned to reduce asylum migration close to zero, stricter policies on work permits, lower energy bills and a tougher stance on gang violence with longer prison sentences. Preliminary results indicated that the Sweden Democrats had seen their strongest result to date and had overtaken the Moderates to become the second largest party with 20.6% of the vote. The result was confirmed after the election.

In October 2022, the SD was allocated chairmanship of four parliamentary committees for the first time in the Riksdag with party secretary Richard Jomshof appointed to head the justice committee. The party also formed a deal with Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson to provide for the first time in their history parliamentary support to a Moderate Party-led government as part of the Tidö Agreement.

Ideology and political positions

The Sweden Democrats' current party programme is based on "democratic nationalism" and social conservatism. The party has also stated its main focus to be the areas of immigration, law & order and the elderly. The party also attaches particular importance to its economic and family policy. The SD criticizes multiculturalism in Sweden and emphasizes preserving national heritage. It is also opposed to what it sees as a constant shift of power from Stockholm to the European Union and campaigns to protect Swedish national identity and financial autonomy against the EU.

Nordic Studies scholar Benjamin R. Teitelbaum has called the SD radical nationalist and in 2018 said the party has since evolved to the "softer side" of European populist parties. The party has been described by sociologist Jens Rydgren and others as xenophobic, racist and right-wing populist. In 2013, a Sveriges Radio journalist called the party xenophobic, which resulted in a complaint lodged to the broadcasting regulator. The Swedish Broadcasting Commission determined that this description was acceptable to use. Commentator on extremism and national security Kateřina Lišaníková observed that the SD had ethnic supremacist and hardline origins through its founders and initial support network, and notes the SD's leadership openly acknowledges its history, while arguing the present version of the SD does not match the description of a radical far-right party and is mistakenly labelled as such by media who focus on the party's early rather than current beliefs, but instead now resembles a national conservative party with populist elements that does not contradict democratic principles.

Oscar Sjöstedt, the SD's financial spokesperson, places the party around the centre on the left–right political spectrum, while leader Jimmie Åkesson has stated that they are parallel with the Moderate Party. The party formally rejects Nazism, and in recent years has increasingly distanced itself from other European ultra-nationalist or far-right parties. In spite of this, a 2022 report by Swedish researchers Acta Publica claimed to have found 289 Swedish politicians who expressed racist or Nazi views, with 214 of them being members of the SD.

Immigration

The Sweden Democrats believe that current Swedish immigration and integration policies have been a national failure. In a statement filed before the Riksdag Committee on Migration in August 2020, SD claims that Sweden's "irresponsible" immigration and asylum policies have subjected Sweden to an on-going "long-term, albeit low-intensity crisis". Their official policy brief states that the party "welcomes those who contribute to our weden'ssociety, who follow our laws and respect our customs. On the other hand, anyone who comes here and exploits our systems, commits crimes or exposes our citizens to danger is not welcome." When handling asylum seekers, the party supports protecting national sovereignty in regards to Sweden's decisions on migration and border control, as well as "the principle of first safe country", meaning that asylum seekers should only be able to seek asylum in the first safe country that they arrive in. Until such legislation is realized, SD supports setting limits on the right to welfare and making cultural integration mandatory. The party opposes offering permanent residency to asylum seekers, believing that temporary residency should be the standard for those who claim asylum in Sweden. SD supports Sweden eventually accepting refugees exclusively through the UNHCR resettlement programme in accordance with a quota based on each municipality's capacity. The party also supports giving priority to persecuted secular, Christian, former Muslim and other religious or sexual minorities fleeing war or death for apostasy believing that such individuals are less likely to be offered refuge elsewhere.

Historically, SD sought to repatriate most immigrants and ban immigration entirely; however, these policies were moderated in the 1990s before being scrapped altogether. Presently, SD wishes to strongly restrict and control immigration, and instead give generous support to immigrants who do not want to assimilate into Swedish society to emigrate back to their country of origin. As more state funds are made free from funding mass immigration, SD believes that Sweden will be better able to help refugees and economic migrants in their home areas. SD has referred to the recommendations from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which state that the return of refugees should be the solution to refugee problems. Torbjörn Kastell (former party secretary from 2003 to 2004) said in 2002 that the party wanted "a multicultural world, not a multicultural society". SD also favours assimilation over integration of immigrants from non-European backgrounds, arguing that integration is a meet in the middle approach and that Swedes should not have to bear the burden over what the party claims have been reckless immigration policies. In 2017, members of the Sweden Democrats' leadership defended comments made by then US President Donald Trump in response to Trump's assertion that Sweden's migration and asylum policies had led to a rise of terrorism and crime in Sweden. However, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the SD supported accepting and accommodating Ukrainian refugees in Sweden.

The SD wants European governments to construct a security wall along the European border with Turkey in response to illegal immigration, terrorism and incursions by the Grey Wolves into Greece. It also calls on Europe to commonly adopt a migration system based on the Australian model to prevent human trafficking across the Mediterranean which the party states enables illegal immigrants and would-be terrorists to reach Sweden. SD calls for compulsory measures for immigrants to be employed, learn the Swedish language and be subject to a language and social skills test before becoming eligible for citizenship. The party also supports increased spending on border patrol forces, expulsion of illegal immigrants and foreign-born criminals, repatriations of Schengen area migrants who move to Sweden to make a living from street begging, changes in the law to enable the government to strip foreign-born Swedish nationals of their citizenship if found guilty of a serious crime, penalties against employers who use foreign and undocumented labor to circumvent Swedish working conditions and stricter laws against family migration.

In recent years SDhas tried to approach the immigration policy of the Danish People's Party, which from 2001 to 2011 provided parliamentary support for the former Danish liberal/conservative government in return for a tightening of Danish immigration policies and stricter naturalisation laws.

Foreign policy

The Sweden Democrats support close political co-operation within the Nordic sphere, but are eurosceptic and strictly against further EU integration and cession of Swedish sovereignty to the European Union. The party opposes EU regulation over Swedish tax and domestic affairs and calls for the national sovereignty and cultural identity of European nations to be prioritized over the EU's political ambitions. SD rejects joining the Economic and Monetary Union by opposing the Euro currency and favors keeping the krona. They also seek to reduce Swedish financial contributions to Brussels, renegotiate Swedish membership of the Schengen Agreement, protect freedom of speech and the free access to the internet from EU copyright bills, and are against the accession of Turkey to the European Union. The SD states that it supports pan-European political cooperation to combat cross-border organized crime, illegal immigration, Islamism, terrorism and environmental challenges but opposes creating a fully combined EU army or policies that could lead to the creation of a Federal European Superstate. The SD states that if the EU cannot be reformed and tries to transform itself into a Superstate, Sweden should immediately reconsider its membership via a referendum and prepare to exit the EU. The party also calls for Sweden to renegotiate its membership with the EU and an amendment to the Swedish constitution to make it mandatory that proposed EU bills and treaties be first put to a public vote in Sweden.

The Sweden Democrats are supportive of Israel and favors recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital and proposes moving the Swedish embassy there, though Israel has stated it does not have and it does not wish to have any contact with the party "due its roots in Nazism". In 2011, SD was the only Swedish political party to vote against Swedish involvement in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. SD has advocated a "neutral" position on the Syrian Civil War and sent a delegation to meet with Syrian officials in 2017. SD also supports the creation of an independent Kurdish state and for the Armenian genocide to be formally recognised by the international community.

The party supports closer military cooperation with neighboring Nordic countries and previously opposed Swedish membership of NATO, instead calling for an alignment without full membership. However, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine the SD leadership announced it would consider changing its policy to endorse NATO membership and support joining if Finland also applied for NATO membership.

In 2022 an analysis of votes relating to Russia in the European Parliament found that the Sweden Democrats were the 10th-most critical party in the parliament having voted against Russian interests 93 percent of the time. The report found that among all Swedish parties the Sweden Democrats were the most critical of Russia.

National identity and culture

SD values a strong, common national and cultural identity, believing this to be one of the most basic cornerstones of a functioning democracy. Minimizing linguistic, cultural and religious differences in society has a positive effect on societal cohesion, according to the party. The Swedish nation is defined "in terms of loyalty, a common language and common culture." A requirement for becoming a member of the Swedish nation is to either "be born in it or ..by actively choosing to be a part of it." For these reasons among others, SDfirmly rejects multiculturalism.

In an interview for '' Dagens Nyheter'', Second Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag and then-party secretary Björn Söder elaborated on the SDparty programme with respect to its views on national identity by saying that he personally did not think people with dual national identities in Sweden would necessarily identify themselves as Swedish. Although an immigrant of any ethnic background in theory can become a Swedish citizen, they would have to adapt and be assimilated in order to be considered Swedish in the cultural sense. Björn Söder stated that the officially recognised Swedish minority peoples (e.g. Sami, Tornedalians and Jews) in many cases have dual cultural identities and that they probably would be proud of both heritages. It was widely interpreted that Söder had stated in the interview that Jews cannot be Swedish unless they abandon their Jewish identity. Söder's comments were understood to be anti-semitic and caused Swedish parliamentary groups and party leaders to call for Björn Söder's resignation. The Simon Wiesenthal Center listed the statement as number six on their list of the top ten most anti-semitic events of 2014. Söder responded in the ''Jerusalem Post'', denying the charges of anti-semitism and claiming ''Dagens Nyheter'' had taken his statements out of context.

The Sweden Democrats advocates a cultural policy that would strip funding for multicultural initiatives and strengthen support for traditional Swedish culture. This agenda has often manifested itself as opposition to state funding of immigrant cultural organisations and festivals, and support for traditional Swedish craft, folk music, and folk dance groups. The party also tends to oppose state support for cultural initiatives deemed provocative or elitist.Teitelbaum, Benjamin (2013). “Come Hear Our Merry Song”: Shifts in the Sound of Contemporary Swedish Radical Nationalism. Ph.D. Dissertation, Brown University. pp. 242–265 A 2014 letter signed by 52Swedish anthropologists, criticised the Sweden Democrats' use of the terms "culture" (''kultur'' ) and "anthropology" (''antropologi'' ), claiming their views on culture were " essentialist and obsolete", clarifying that culture is "dynamic" and "in constant change".

The Sweden Democrats criticise modern art and have accused local councils of wasting public money on what it calls "provocative" art. The SD want citizens to be able to vote in local referendums on public art displayed near schools, public transport stations and town centres. "The important thing is that what is expressed in the public environment is anchored to the citizens and especially the local residents who are most often in the environment so that they feel an identification", says the party's cultural spokesperson Aron Emilsson. Sweden Democrats mayor in Sölvesborg Louise Erixon claimed "There's a big division between what the general public thinks is beautiful and interesting and what a tiny cultural elite thinks is exciting."

The Sweden Democrats also support a ban on the burqa and niqab in public places, are against proposals to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer from minarets, and want tougher enforcement of existing laws against female genital mutilation, honor violence and social segregation. The SD also want Swedish to remain Sweden's sole official language in state funded schools, government agencies and public funded media. It also supports prohibiting the hijab in primary schools, arguing that while it is not opposed to hijabs in general, the choice to wear it should be made on an individual basis when a child reaches adulthood. The SD is strongly opposed to sharia law being incorporated into the Swedish legal system.

Economy and welfare

The Sweden Democrats have described themselves as supporters of the Swedish welfare state, labour rights and the public sector, but argue that welfare should be restricted to Swedish citizens and permanent residents. In its platform, the SD claims that its economic policies are neither left or right-wing, but designed to improve conditions for small and medium-sized companies, self-employed citizens and entrepreneurs to boost employment and stimulate the economy, as opposed to what it describes as "constructed jobs" created by the government to reduce unemployment but hold no long term benefits for the Swedish economy or for the people who work them. SD wants to abolish the Swedish Employment Service in its current form and replace it with a new authority for the supervision and close regulation of private employment services to ensure large corporations do not exploit or undercut Swedish workers. The party also supports affordable and free access to public healthcare for Swedish nationals. Anders Backlund described the party as "economically centrist," leaning towards economic nationalism (in contrast to the other Swedish conservative parties who tend to favour open free markets and global cosmopolitan philosophies) and supporting a mixed market economy combining centre-left and centre-right ideas, as well as promoting "welfare chauvinist" policies which blend national-populism with socio-economics. According to political scientist Johan Martinsson: "In economic terms, the party is more centrist and pragmatic, with a mixture of left and right-wing proposals".

Family and LGBT

The Sweden Democrats considers children raised in a nuclear family as the preferred option for the child's development. Those not raised by their biological parents should have the right to associate with or at least find out who they were. SD has been critical of adoption and artificial insemination for same-sex couples and polyamorous people. The party now fully supports same-sex marriage and civil partnerships for gay couples but believes the ultimate decision to perform ceremonies should be decided by the individual religious institution rather than the state.

SD previously opposed government sanctioned adoption to single people, same-sex couples and polyamorous relationships unless the adopting party are close relatives or already have a close relationship with the child.

Historically, members of SD have criticized a so-called " Homosex Lobby" but the party has changed its position on LGBT in Swedish society. Party leader Jimmie Åkesson has expressed concerns that what he describes as the gradual Islamisation of Sweden will eventually lead to the rights of sexual minorities being violated.

Throughout the early 2000s, ''SD-Kuriren'' (the official SD party newspaper) regularly published articles criticizing LGBT events and describing homosexuality as "perversion", before moderating itself alongside a shift in party ideology. A blog post claiming Stockholm Pride sexualised young children and equating homosexuality with pedophilia titled ''Botten måste snart vara nådd'' (Soon enough we'll hit rock bottom) was published by SD Party secretary Björn Söder on 1 August 2007. The post was widely criticised in the Swedish media as an attack on LGBT people.

An unofficial gay pride parade called Pride Järva was organised by SD member and former party magazine editor Jan Sjunnesson in the Stockholm suburbs of Tensta

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