Despite accepting more refugees per capita than any other European country, in Sweden, there has been a tremendous rise in votes for a party known to be riddled with Islamophobic and anti-immigration beliefs, the Sweden Democrats. In 2010, the party secured 20 seats in Riksdag, polling 5.7%, and in 2018, the party secured 62 seats, 17.5% in polling.

There is said to be a general sense of country pride in being open to immigrants and embracing other cultures in Sweden, which contradicts much of the Sweden Democrats' problematic history and current views.

In 1988, the Sweden Democrats were founded by previous Nazi and Neo-Nazi members, and a predecessor of Bervara Sverige Svenskt, whose motto is ‘Keep Sweden Swedish’ and were allied with the White Aryan Resistance, a white supremacist group. 

Matts Nilson, who joined the Sweden Democrats in 1999, has said ‘I thought that every African or Arab can come to this country as long as they assimilate and eat meatballs’’ This blatant intolerance to different cultures and traditions occurred only 21 years ago and reflects on the party's original white supremacist views. 

However, the record-breaking number of asylum seekers Sweden experienced in 2015 put a lot of stress on the country, and due to this, the Swedish government introduced a new highly restricting asylum law, heavily encouraged by the Sweden Democrats.

As well as this, crime rates in areas with many immigrants are higher. Malmö, which is home to many Swedish immigrants, has been called the ‘rape capital of Europe’ by Nigel Farage and is segregated by ethnicity, and home to some of the highest homicide rates Sweden has seen in years; many people in Sweden feel that there is a lack of control in the government.

Although some are keen to argue that the party no longer shares its original views, the current leader of the party, Jimmie Akesson, has openly expressed his dislike for the niqab, ‘I think it’s uncomfortable for people’, and is planning to ban them in the future.

Today, the party officially rejects Nazism and Fascism, but one can question how far the party has really progressed.