Sweden Democrats

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 the activist group Bevara Sverige Svenskt (BSS; in English: "Keep Sweden Swedish") and a faction of the Swedish Progress Party. The SD continued to use Keep Sweden Swedish as its slogan until the late 1990s. The SD claims 6 February 1988 as the date of its foundation and that the party was formally registered after a meeting in Stockholm designed to bring together various nationalist movements who issued a white paper for a new party, 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.

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

According to the anti-racism publication Expo and the political historian Duncan McDonnell, it is generally agreed that the Sweden Democrats have never been a fascist or a neo-Nazi political party, although studies by Expo documented that around 60% of the SD's founders and early members had previously belonged to both Swedish and foreign neo-fascist and white nationalist groups. The party also had a reputation in the late 1980s and early 1990s for attracting skinhead gangs to its public events. The Expo study also claimed that nine of the original 30 people who founded the SD had associations to known Nordic fascist parties such as the New Swedish Movement and the neo-Nazi Nordic Realm Party (Nordiska rikspartiet, abbr. NRP) while another eighteen had been part of the Keep Sweden Swedish organization. The study estimated that around sixty percent of party's national board members between 1989 and 1995 were connected to neo-Nazi movements in various ways both before and during their time in the party. However, the study also noted that a majority of these members were no longer active within the party by the mid-to-late-1990s. 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 the 1940s. The SD's first chairman Anders Klarström and party co-founders and first board members Fritz Håkansson and Gösta Bergqvist had all been members of the Nordic Realm Party. Klarström later elaborated he had briefly been part of the NRP as a teenager before distancing himself from it by the time he became SD leader. The first version of the SD's old youth-wing, the Sweden Democratic Youth was accused of having dual leadership with neo-Nazi youth movements until 1995 while the SD's logo from the 1990s until 2006 was a version of the torch used by the British National Front. The SD also encountered controversy for some of its early policy ideas before 1999, 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.

Moderation and growth (1995–2010)

In 1995, Klarström was replaced as SD chairman by Mikael Jansson, a former member of the Centre Party. Jansson strove to make the party more respectable and took a direct stance against displays of extremism within its ranks. In 1995, the SD closed down its youth-wing and after skinheads started to impose on SD meetings, consuming alcohol at party events, displaying fascist imagery and the wearing of any kind of political uniform were formally banned in 1996. Also in 1996, it was revealed that an SD spokeswoman 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. During the early 1990s, the SD sought to become a more conventional political party and became more influenced by the French National Rally, as well as the Freedom Party of Austria, the Danish People's Party, German The Republicans and Italian National Alliance. SD received economic support for the 1998 election from the then called French National Front, and became active in Jean-Marie Le Pen's Euronat from the same time. By the end of the decade, the party took further steps to moderate itself by distancing itself from all forms of fascist ideology, softening its policies on immigration and capital punishment and removing party figures deemed to be too radical. 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 which in turn resulted in many of the SD's remaining hardline members leaving for the new party.

During the early 2000s, a reformist faction known as 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 neo-Nazi activists from attending party events or obtaining membership, and further revising the SD's policy platform. Before the 2002 election, former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Moderate Party, Sten 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).

Entrance into parliament and ideological realignment (2010–2014)

In the 2010 Swedish general election, SD won representation in the Swedish Riksdag for the first time, with 5.7% of the vote and 20 MPs.

In 2010, the SD leadership introduced a charter against racism on the party platform and later expanded this into a zero-tolerance policy regarding political extremism and law breaking. After some of the SD's elected members caused controversies during the party's first term in the Riksdag, the SD also stated it would introduce a vetting procedure for its future parliamentary candidates and issued updated guidelines on conduct and communication for party members. In 2011, the party also changed its self-description from "nationalist" to "social conservative".

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's public 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.

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 largest party in 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, the far-right Alternative for Sweden was founded by members of the Sweden Democratic 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).

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, Aron Emilsson the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Tobias Andersson the Committee on Industry and Trade, and Magnus Persson the Committee on the Labour Market. SD parliamentarians were appointed as international delegation leaders for the first time, with Markus Wiechel becoming chairman of the Swedish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Björn Söder for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Adam Marttinen the chairman of the joint-parliamentary group for Europol.

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. In May 2023, SD representative Elsa Widding left the party after she was criticised for attending a conference organised by Searchlight. She remained as an independent politician voting with the SD group within the Tidö coalition. In 2025 the SD Riksdag group dropped to 70 MPs after Katja Nyberg and Sara-Lena Bjälkö both resigned from the party; Nyberg chose to leave the SD after receiving a drunk driving charge while Bjälkö left to join the Christian Democrats. In 2026 the SD group rose back up to 72 MPs after Moderate Party parliamentarians Arin Karapet and Marléne Lund Kopparklint defected to the Sweden Democrats.

Ahead of the 2026 Swedish general election, the Liberals announced they had eliminated all red lines on cooperating with the Sweden Democrats in a future centre-right coalition becoming the last party in the Tidö Agreement to completely end the cordon sanitaire against the SD. Although both part of the Tidö coalition, the Liberals had previously opposed appointing SD politicians into cabinet roles before changing its stance in March 2026. The decision was supported by the Moderates and the Christian Democrats but it also prompted several Liberal politicians to quit the party in protest. That same month, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that he would include the SD in the cabinet and give the party ministerial duties should the right-wing bloc gain another majority.

Ideology and political positions

The Sweden Democrats' current party programme is based on "democratic nationalism" and social conservatism. The SD platform expresses that the party's core philosophy is inspired by Swedish national conservatism and parts of the social democratic folkhemmet ('the people's home') idea. SD rejects any positioning of the party within the classic left-right scale, instead referring to itself as a "value-oriented" or "value-conservative" party. The party has stated that "basic social justice with traditional conservative ideas", nationalism and desires for democratic and good governance form its main principles. Nevertheless, the party is often described by international commentators as being right-wing to far-right.

In policy, SD articulates its main focus to be the areas of immigration, law and order and the elderly. The party also attaches particular importance to its economic and family policies. 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 sovereignty and financial autonomy against the EU.

Political analysis

The SD's ideology and political identity has evolved significantly in the decades since its founding and entrance into the Riksdag. Labels for the party have consequently been a source of debate by outside observers. Nordic Studies scholar Benjamin R. Teitelbaum called the SD radical nationalist in 2013 and by 2018 said the party has since moved to the "softer side" of European populist parties. The party has been described by sociologist Jens Rydgren and political scientist Cas Mudde variously as xenophobic, far-right, racist or right-wing populist. French newspaper Le Monde profiled the SD as far-right and "a nationalist party with fascist roots". Critics of the SD have argued that it contains a more dangerous or problematic ideology behind a moderate facade, whereas others such as Teitelbaum have argued that research into the SD has been politically biased and that the SD has become more difficult to define due to its beliefs changing over the years. In 2013, a Sveriges Radio journalist called the SD "xenophobic", which resulted in a complaint lodged to the broadcasting regulator by the party. The Swedish Broadcasting Commission determined that this description was acceptable to use. According to Sveriges Radio in 2017, a European research agency classed the party as "extreme" using the Swedish GAL-TAN political scale, arguing that the SD is more traditionalist, socially authoritarian and nationalist and less progressive compared to other Swedish parliamentary parties and described the SD as similar to the French National Rally in some of its policies. In 2019, the polling company Novus said that their opinion polls show that SD is no-longer a "one-issue" party in regards to immigration, having won trust in other political questions too. In 2022, University of Gothenburg political scientist Johan Martinsson described the SD as "anti-immigration, anti-multicultural, nationalist" while stopping short of labelling the SD as a far-right party.

However, the characterization of the SD as radical or extreme far-right has come under dispute in recent years by scholars and political observers. Commentator Kateřina Lišaníková observed that the SD had hardline origins through its founders and initial support network, and notes that the SD's leadership openly acknowledges the party's history, but argues the present version of the SD does not match the description of a radical far-right party but is mistakenly labelled as such by media or opponents who focus on the party's early rather than current beliefs. She stated that the SD is now a national conservative party with populist elements but does not contradict democratic or Swedish constitutional principles. Similar observations were made in 2021 by Swedish political scientist Sören Holmberg that "extreme right" was not a good description for the SD when placed within the traditional left-right scale, since the party contains centre-left and centrist policies on some issues compared to the other centre-right parties in Sweden. Holmberg furthermore argued that while SD can be considered a right-wing populist party, the label "populist" has become unstable due to some of the other parties in the Riksdag adopting populist ideas of their own. He concluded national-conservative was a better term for the SD. Swedish sociologist Göran Adamson has also argued some political opposition conflate the SD's national conservative image as being right-wing extremist, and argued that the SD today is no longer comparable to European extreme-right or neo-fascist parties since the SD has a more liberal direction in several areas, and there is no evidence to suggest that the current incarnation of the party's policies are fascist or anti-democratic.

Policies and beliefs

Domestic policy

The party is a supporter of the Swedish monarchy playing a constitutional and cultural role in Swedish life, but also supports an amendment to the constitution that obligates the Riksdag to elect a new monarch in the event of there being no heir to the throne. In 2025 the party supported changing the citizenship requirements to the conditions of being able to speak Swedish, having education about Swedish culture and having an honest way of life, as well as declaring loyalty to Sweden.

The Sweden Democrats have been critical of the special rights given to the indigenous Sámi people of northern Sweden. In 2008, the party accepted a motion against the rights to reindeer husbandry. They have argued that those "who do not involve themselves with reindeer husbandry are treated as second class citizens" and that the privileges the herders have are "undemocratic". The party has previously wanted to abolish the Sámi Parliament, which it claimed special privileges for an "ethnic minority while the society claims equal rights for others". However, the SD has since disputed that it endorses abolishing the Sámi Parliament with SD spokesman Mattias Karlsson saying in a 2013 interview that "the Sami are an indigenous people with an indisputable right to preserve their identity and culture."

National identity and culture

The Sweden Democrats value a strong common national and cultural identity, believing these to be the most basic cornerstones of a functioning democracy and successful society. Minimizing linguistic, cultural and religious differences in society and emphasizing a defined sense of Swedish cultural values and social norms has a positive effect on societal cohesion, maintaining a welfare state and encouraging solidarity among the population, according to the party. On its platform, SD states 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, SD firmly rejects multiculturalism and argues that Sweden should preserve its cultural heritage by assimilating newcomers and maintaining Swedish as the nation's official language.

Until the 2000s, the SD attached ethnopluralist arguments to its defense of a Swedish homeland and culture. The 2005 party handbook called for a "high degree of ethnic and cultural similarity among the population" while the old party platform described the need to preserve the "inherited essence" of ethnic Swedes. However, the SD's official platform since 2018 no longer refers to a Swedish nation and people in an ethnically defined context, but adopts a more moderate cultural conservative policy promoting a shared national identity in which foreign-born people can become Swedish through stricter assimilation policies in exchange for citizenship and by the state asserting a more defined concept of Swedish culture and social values. The SD argues that not having a defined sense of what it means to be Swedish makes it harder for those of non-Western cultures to understand and become part of Swedish society. SD representatives have expressed that lacking a defined Swedish cultural identity and society will leave Sweden vulnerable to takeovers by more defined but aggressive cultures and social attitudes, with members of the party citing Islamic culture as an example. The SD has cited a strong work ethic, respect for nature, appreciation for Lutheran Christian traditions, speaking Swedish and equality between the sexes as important parts of Swedish cultural values that the country should strive to maintain. Nevertheless, the idea of a binding "inherited essence" is still a defining feature of SD supporters' worldview. A 2025 study reveals that supporters of the Sweden Democrats are more likely than those of other parties to believe that social differences (e.g., talents, intelligence, behaviours) between individuals, genders, and groups reflect genetic predispositions.

Society and crime

The Sweden Democrats consider 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 also calls for a ban on child, polygamous and forced marriages, as well as harsher penalties for honor violence. It also supports a zero-tolerance stance against female genital mutilation within Sweden and abroad, and for perpetrators to be prosecuted or if necessary deported. SD also wants certain restrictions on male circumcision, calling for a ban on minors unless its for medical reasons. The party says that while it does support male circumcision for religious reasons, it should be performed at the age of consent and the state should not fund it through the healthcare system.

SD supports abortion being legal in Sweden and free access to abortions up to the legal limit in Sweden which is 22 weeks since 2019.

The SD previously opposed government sanctioned adoption to single people and same-sex couples, unless the adopting party are close relatives or already have a close relationship with the child, but has since shifted its stance to permitting same-sex adoption, and supports privately funded insemination for single or gay parents. Historically, members of SD have criticized a so-called "Homosex Lobby", but the party has since changed and moderated 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.

Economy

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. The party argues that foreign-born nationals must show proof of legal residence, paid taxes and financial self-support for a certain period to become eligible for welfare. 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 state to reduce unemployment but hold no long term benefit for the Swedish economy or career paths 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 supports affordable and free access to public healthcare for Swedish nationals.

SD supports certain free trade conditions but believe Sweden must exit or revise trade agreements that pose a threat to Sweden's sovereignty and Swedish workers. The party favours certain measures of economic protectionism and support state-ownership of companies that operate Swedish mines, agricultural land and produce energy or defense equipment. However, SD also support abolishing inheritance tax and reducing property tax. Since the 2010s, the SD has been critical of Chinese government involvement in infrastructure projects and trade deals with Sweden. SD wishes to lower the tax rate for the elderly, as well as increase subsidised housing for the elderly. SD also wishes to allocate additional resources to municipalities in order to provide seniors with greater food assistance and, in general, improve their quality of life.

Political author 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".

Environment

The party argues that, while Sweden should maintain its "active role in global climate cooperation", other countries should reduce their emissions, as it believes Sweden to already be doing enough on that front. The party opposed the Paris agreement, and advocates keeping nuclear power plants as a prominent energy source in Sweden, believing it to be an efficient way to mitigate climate change. They also advocate investing in climate research internationally and funding climate action on a global scale.

SD supports creating a specialist law enforcement branch for animal welfare and call for stricter penalties against animal cruelty. In 2017, the SD members of the Riksdag Justice Committee filed a motion calling for extended prison sentences for those found guilty of animal abuse, which was ultimately supported by the other parties. The party opposes EU influence over domestic laws on hunting, farming and forestry within Sweden, calling for such policies to be decided upon by rural Swedes instead of Brussels. SD is also critical of non-stun animal slaughter and want to ban the import of goods that contradict Swedish animal welfare legislation.

Foreign policy

SD wants to increase the number of Swedish Army brigades to seven from 2021's two. The party has stated that it would seek to raise Sweden's defense spending to 2–2.5% of GDP.

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. It subsequently voted in favor for NATO membership in the Riksdag.

The Sweden Democrats support close political co-operation within the Nordic sphere, but are Eurosceptic and against further EU integration and cession of Swedish sovereignty to the European Union. The party states that it supports European political and economic co-operation to secure trade and combat cross-border organized crime, illegal immigration, Islamism, terrorism and environmental challenges but strongly opposes creating an EU army or policies that could lead to the creation of a Federal European Superstate. The party generally opposes all EU regulation over Swedish tax, pensions, environmental and domestic affairs and calls for the national sovereignty and cultural identity of European nations to be prioritized above 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, end Swedish participation in bailouts for other EU member states, renegotiate Swedish membership of the Schengen Agreement and opt-out of common asylum agreements, 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 party has called for Sweden to renegotiate its membership of the EU and seeks an amendment to the Swedish constitution to make it mandatory that proposed EU treaties and financial transfers be first put to a public vote. The SD believes that if the EU cannot be reformed or attempts to transform itself into a Superstate, Sweden must immediately reconsider its membership via a referendum and prepare to leave the EU. The SD's youth-wing, the Young Swedes (Ungsvenskarna), support a Swedish exit from the EU. In 2023, party leader Åkesson and SD European Union spokesman Charlie Weimers unveiled a new EU strategy with the objective of achieving better negotiation results, increasing Swedish influence and stopping the EU from gaining more power by creating a referendum lock based on the UK European Union Act 2011 in the Riksdag to prevent transfer of powers to Brussels without a mandatory public vote. SD argues that a referendum lock should be used to prevent further EU expansion to include Turkey, Albania and Balkan states. The SD has also said it wants a Swedish exit from the EU be made possible by removing all references to membership in the constitution. In 2025, the Sweden Democrats stated that while they remain critical of the EU, they believe EU funds are necessary and pragmatic in the current climate for European military rearmament, with the party citing the war in Ukraine and deteriorating security situation between the United States and Europe.

Election results

Organization

Internal structure

The Sweden Democrats are made up of 16 districts of local party associations with executive boards. Each district consists of a number of municipal associations, which may include one or more municipalities. In municipalities that are not covered by a municipal association, the party organises its members as working groups instead. The SD also has a centralized national board permanently chaired by the party leader and party secretary and whose other members are elected by the SD's membership base.

Within the SD there is a women's branch SD-Women and an affiliated youth-wing Young Swedes SDU which was founded in 2015. The SD's first youth-wing was founded in 1993 as the Sweden Democratic Youth Association before it was renamed the Sweden Democratic Youth (SDU). The old SDU was disbanded in 1995 due to extremism problems before it was reconstituted in 1998. Many prominent SD politicians including party leader Jimmie Åkesson were members of the SDU. In 2015, the SD announced it would expel the leadership of the SDU from the mother party and officially sever ties with it due to ongoing controversies with its members. The party subsequently created the Young Swedes SDU as a replacement.

Following the 2010 Swedish general election, the SD created its own security unit which by 2014 consisted of an estimated 60 people. SD states that the unit is intended to handle internal issues within the party, including cybersecurity, to marshal public events and to encourage members to report external threats to the police. The SD has argued the security wing is necessary due to threats against SD politicians and highlighted a 2012 report by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention which found one in two of every local SD politician had experienced some form of threat, harassment or physical violence, and that SD legislators were statistically twice as more likely to be threatened than members of other parties. SD reported 95 instances of threats or violence against elected officials to the police and Riksdag security in 2012.

Associated organisations and media

Since its founding, the SD has published its own newspaper SD-Kuriren which was previously known as Sverige-Kuriren and then SD Bulletin until 2003. Party secretary Richard Jomshof currently serves as the paper's editor. In 2014, the party also launched an online magazine Samtiden ('Contemporary'). It is currently edited by Swedish economist Dick Erixon.

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

In 2020, the party also helped to launch a web based TV channel called Riks, through their wholly owned online magazine Samtiden, with the ambition that the media channel should not be an official party TV. However, in a 2024 investigatory exposé conducted by TV4’s investigatory branch, Kalla fakta, it was discovered that Riks and the SD are in a close-knit relationship with each other. For example, the exposé showed that Riks rents its office spaces from the Sweden Democrats, and that members of the SD and Riks come into frequent contact with one another, moving freely between each other's offices. Moreover, the SD's communications department instructed Riks to hide any connection to SD before an Expressen interview with Dick Erixon in Riks' offices. In addition to that, the programme showed that the SD's communications department used anonymous social media accounts to artificially disseminate Riks' posts and YouTube videos.

Voter demography

According to Statistics Sweden's (SCB) 2017 party preference survey, the Sweden Democrats (SD) have a stronger support among men than among women. There is no noticeable difference in support for the party among different age groups. The support for SD is greater among native born than among foreign born. Since 2014 the SD has substantially increased its support among both foreign-born and foreign-background voters, becoming the third largest party in Sweden also among this demographic by 2017. Sympathies are greater for the party among persons with primary and secondary education than among those with a higher education.

A study by Aftonbladet in 2010 found that 14% of SD members were of immigrant origin, which matches the share of foreign-born inhabitants of Sweden, while their vote share in this population group has always been lower. For the 2010 election in the municipality of Södertälje (Stockholm County), SD was the only party with a majority of immigrants on its electoral list, mostly Assyrians from the Middle East. Polling 7.31% (3,447 votes), SD's municipal list in Södertälje got 5 of the 65 municipal seats. Since 2014, the SD has seen growing support from foreign-born Swedish voters, and was estimated to have become the third most popular party for voters of immigrant backgrounds by 2017. In recent years, politicians of ethnic minority and immigrant backgrounds have become increasingly active in the party, with notable examples including Nima Gholam Ali Pour, Kent Ekeroth, Sara Gille Arin Karapet and Rashid Farivar.

International relations

In its early days, the Sweden Democrats was known to associate itself with both native Swedish and wider European extreme-right activist groups and political parties. In 1997, the Sweden Democrats made connections with the French National Front (FN) and Jean-Marie Le Pen after SD spokesman Johan Rinderheim participated in the conference that established Le Pen's Euronat initiative and the SD received support from the FN in 1998. The SD also founded the NordNat alliance of Nordic nationalist parties in 1997 which also contained the Finnish Patriotic People's Movement, the Danish National Party and the Fatherland Party of Norway, but otherwise the SD did not actively seek formal relationships outside of Sweden. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the SD began distancing itself from extreme-right parties. The SD broke ties with Euronat in 1998 and NordNat in 1999 and became more influenced by the neighboring Danish People's Party (DF). By the late 2000s the SD said it had ceased regarding the National Front as a role model and instead saw the DF as a sister party. In 2010, party secretary Björn Söder published an article disowning the SD's older connections to extreme or neo-fascist groups or individuals like Le Pen and said SD was more focused on Sweden's issues over interacting with foreign parties. The party has also been active within counter-jihad networks, explicitly from 2007 to 2011.

In Europe, SD has had some contacts with the Austrian FPÖ, the Dutch Party for Freedom and Forum for Democracy, the Flemish Vlaams Belang and the now defunct Belgian People's Party over the early 2010s. The Danish People's Party was initially indifferent on collaborating with the SD until 2010 when Pia Kjærsgaard travelled to Sweden to help with the party's general election campaign. Shortly after, Danish People's Party foreign affairs spokesman Søren Espersen hosted the SD's conference and said both parties would work together in the Nordic Council. Before the European election of 2014 there was some speculation that the SD would enter a grouping with other European nationalist parties led by Marine Le Pen. SD politicians confirmed they had had met with representatives from the proposed group but said the talks were informal. The Danish People's Party reportedly threatened to end ties with SD if they joined the group, stating that while they were willing to work with the SD and the Dutch Freedom Party, they opposed inclusion of parties like the National Front and the FPÖ. However, after the election the SD began to distance itself from other European far-right parties and elected to become a member of the more moderate Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group with the UK Independence Party. The SD was also active in the European Alliance for Freedom and the Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE) Euro parties with members of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). In 2016, Marine Le Pen stated that the Sweden Democrats were no longer in official cooperation with her party.

Public profile and controversies

Early image

During the 1980s and early 1990s, several outspoken far-right and Nazi advocates were involved with the party. It was founded by, among others, the Swedish Waffen-SS veteran Gustaf Ekström and members of both older Nazi and neo-Nazi organisations. In its early days, the SD also had a reputation for attracting biker and skinhead gangs to its rallies before disconnecting itself with neo-Nazi and skinhead movements in the mid-1990s. The party had flyers printed by the French National Front in the 1998 general election, and was financially backed for the 2004 European election by Belgian businessman and racial conspiracy theorist Bernard Mengal. In the 1990s, the party was a member of the Euronat initiative which was set up by Jean-Marie Le Pen before severing ties with it in 1999. In 1999, the party program was updated to state its opposition to Nazism: "The Sweden Democrats reject with the same contempt Nazism, whose leitmotif is the Fuhrer principle, racial superiority and aggressive war, and which can be seen as a mirror image of and a reaction to Marxism." In 2005, the SD acknowledged that it had contained people with extreme political views at the time of its establishment but denied that it was founded as a neo-Nazi party or had ever endorsed fascist and national socialist ideas in its manifesto. As part of the moderation process, the Sweden Democrats began expelling extreme far-right members from the early 2000s onwards and in 2010 updated the party constitution to include clauses against racism, extremism and criminal behaviour. Since the 2010s, the SD has also sought to distance itself from far-right parties in Europe, including turning down an invitation to join an alliance in the European Parliament with the French National Front in 2014 and choosing to ally themselves with more moderate parties during the 2014 and 2019 European elections.

In June 2025, the SD leadership issued an official apology for the party's historical links to neo-fascist and neo-Nazi figures and groups, with SD spokesman Mattias Karlsson stating "That there have been clear expressions of antisemitism and support for National Socialist ideas in my party's history, I think, is disgusting and reprehensible. I would like to reiterate the party's apology, above all to Swedish citizens of Jewish descent who may have felt a strong sense of insecurity and fear for good reasons."

Isolation in parliament

Both before and after the 2010 Swedish general election all the major parties, including the Swedish Social Democrats and the Moderate Party, declared they would not collaborate or work with the Sweden Democrats. The move was described by international pundits as an unofficial cordon sanitaire. The policy of non-cooperation was kept in place for the 2014 Swedish general election. Following the 2018 general election, which saw the disintegration of the centre-right Alliance, Christian Democrats leader Ebba Busch and Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson signaled an end to the non-cooperation policy and began talks with the SD. The policy of non-cooperation was officially scrapped by the Moderates, Christian Democrats and The Liberals for the 2022 election when all four parties signed the Tidö Agreement.

Media boycotts

The Sweden Democrats have complained about difficulties buying advertising space before elections due to the media banning the party from advertising and have accused media outlets of political bias and trying to censor or limit the party's campaign messages during elections. This has been criticised by free speech organisations in Sweden and abroad. On 16 June 2006, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet decided to stop their boycott. Expressen, however, still retains a ban on Sweden Democrat advertising. During the 2010 Swedish general election, broadcaster TV4 refused to air a Sweden Democrats campaign video which depicted a Swedish pensioner being outrun by burka-clad women with prams. TV4's decision was criticized by both free speech advocates and politicians from Denmark, including by Danish People's Party leader Pia Kjærsgaard, Venstre and the Conservative People's Party (the latter of whom reacted to TV4's decision to ban the video by calling for international election observers to be sent to Sweden), and by members of the Norwegian Progress Party who called the decision a "violation of democratic rules". The SD subsequently uploaded the video to YouTube where it was viewed over a million times. Swedish political journalist Hanne Kjöller argued that attempts to censor the SD in 2010 by the media and left-wing protest groups ultimately backfired and ended up emboldening their support by giving them more publicity.

Muhammad cartoon debate

After the Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten published twelve cartoons depicting Muhammad and ignited a controversy during the 2005 autumn and winter, the Sweden Democrats gave their unreserved support to the publication with reference to the freedom of speech. SD stated that it saw no reason why a Danish newspaper should be forced to abide by Muslim rules and prohibitions regarding expression. When the boycott of Danish products was launched in the Middle East, SD launched a "Buy Danish" campaign in support of Danish workers. In 2006 SD entered the Muhammad cartoon debate by publishing a cartoon depicting Muhammad on its youth league (SDU) and SD-Kuriren (pronounced [ˈɛ̂sːdeːkɵˌriːrɛn] ) websites. The cartoon showed Muhammad from behind holding a mirror in front of his face. However, instead of any facial features, the mirror showed only a blank head. The cartoon was captioned "Muhammad's Face" (Swedish: Muhammeds ansikte [mɵˈhǎmːɛds ˈânːsɪktɛ] ).

The publication attracted the attention of the Swedish government, which informed internet service provider Levonline about the SD's publications. Subsequently, Levonline shut down SD's web page. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laila Freivalds, denied any direct interference. However, at the same time, Laila Freivalds condemned the publication as a provocation. Freivalds then resigned from the Persson Cabinet after being accused of interference with press freedom and lying about such actions.

This event spurred debate on government censorship in Sweden. The Sweden Democrats also had a hate speech charge filed against them due to the posted caricature. Similar hate speech charges were filed against other Swedish publishers who had depicted Muhammad. However, these charges were immediately deemed to be unfounded by the Swedish Chancellor of Justice.

The Sweden Democrats originally planned to publish a set of cartoons in their newspaper SD-Kuriren. However, after the controversy erupted, Jimmie Åkesson issued a statement on SD's website on 9 February 2006, stating that they would refrain from further publications online and in print, due to concerns that publishing might spur hostile actions against Swedes and Swedish interests.

The shutdown of the Sweden Democrats' websites was reported to the Committee on the Constitution by the Liberal People's Party leader Lars Leijonborg. SD filed complaints against the Security Service (Säpo) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with the Justitiekansler and Justitieombudsmannen, alleging that the government's interference was unconstitutional. The spokesperson of the Green Party, Peter Eriksson, also criticised the involvement of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in the event.

Racist incidents and expulsions

The Sweden Democrats have, among all Swedish parliamentary parties, had the largest share of elected municipal representatives resign since the 2010 elections (27.8%). Many of these resignations were brought on by racist statements or actions by these representatives.

In November 2012, party spokesperson Erik Almqvist resigned after he had been caught on tape making racist and sexist statements. In November 2012, parliamentarian Lars Isovaara resigned after accusing two people of foreign origin of stealing his bag (which Isovaara had left at a restaurant) and then proceeding to verbally abuse a security guard of a foreign background. Isovaara's replacement in parliament, Markus Wiechel, was found in April 2013 to have referred to a group of black people as "monkeys" in a Facebook comment back in 2011. Wiechel later apologised and stated the comment had been in reference to a video of a tribal witch burning in Africa.

In March 2013, 12 individuals were thrown out of the party for their involvement in neo-Nazi or other extremist movements. In November 2013, parliamentarian and then vice party leader Jonas Åkerlund gained attention for having called immigrants "parasites" during a broadcast on SD's own radio station in 2002, after the recording was publicly rediscovered. In his defence, Åkerlund stated that he only said it to provoke people. In September 2014, the party chairman of the local Stockholm branch, Christoffer Dulny was asked to resign from his position after it was found he had previously posted mocking comments about immigrants, calling them "shameless liars" on alternative media sites. He also resigned from parliament on the same day.

In October 2016, a video of the parliamentarian and economic policy spokesperson Oscar Sjöstedt laughing at antisemitic jokes was released by a former school friend of his who also accused Sjöstedt of chanting fascist slogans. Whilst at a party believed to have been organized by the neo-Nazi group Info-14 in 2011 when Sjöstedt was a member of the SD's youth wing, he laughingly told a story about former co-workers with Nazi sympathies mocking Jews and comparing them to sheep. Following an investigation by the SD, Sjöstedt stated that a friend had invited him to the party but he had walked out upon discovering who had organized it and denied expressing fascist statements. During the same month, the parliamentarian and second deputy party leader Carina Herrstedt was confronted with having sent an allegedly racist, antisemitic, homophobic and anti-romanyist email to her then spouse in 2011. The email, which had been leaked from the party's internal servers, for instance contained phrases that referred to black football players from the team Landskrona BoIS as "negroes" whilst also picturing Romani people as thieves. The email was meant to be playful and ironic, Herrstedt said to Aftonbladet.

Iron pipe scandal

On November 14, 2012, Erik Almqvist, in addition to party spokesperson Kent Ekeroth and party official Christian Westling were filmed arming themselves with iron pipes before they sought out a confrontation with Soran Ismail, a Swedish comedian of Kurdish descent.

Splinter parties

Since the SD's inception, breakaway parties have been formed by former SD members, many of whom were either removed from the party due to controversial actions or resigned after the SD began to ideologically shift and moderate itself.

In 1995, former SD spokesman Leif Zeilon established the Homeland Party along with other founding members of the SD after Anders Klarström was replaced as party chairman by a less hardline leadership.

In 2001, a major breakaway occurred when the more radical ethno-nationalist faction of the SD's national board and their supporters were collectively expelled and formed the National Democrats party.

On 18 March 2018, Alternative for Sweden (AfS) was formed by former members of the SD's old youth wing after they were kicked out of the party after alleged ties with extremist groups and for coming into conflict with the mother party. Three SD parliamentarians joined Alternative for Sweden but all lost their seats during the 2018 general election. AfS's policies have been criticised as too extreme by members of the SD such as Henrik Vinge.

Lobbying

The Sweden Democrats came under fire in 2015 for changing their position on profits made by private welfare companies. Before the election in 2014 they favored having restrictions on the amount of profit that welfare companies could take and use for their own gain. Since the election, they have favored the approach of the Alliance parties, that is higher and more restrictive quality standards. This has been suspected to be because of extensive lobbying done by the organisation Svenskt Näringsliv among others. The story was discovered by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri on 14 September 2015. SD has denied all accusations of corruption.

Anonymous social media accounts

On May 7, 2024, one month prior to the 2024 EU elections, the TV4 investigative journalism program Kalla fakta ('Hard Facts') premiered a two-part documentary (Undercover i trollfabriken, 'Undercover in the Troll Factory') revealing that the Sweden Democrats systematically used anonymous accounts on social media platforms such as TikTok, X and Facebook. The scoop was obtained through the use of the wallraff method where a reporter spent five months as an employee at the previously SD-owned YouTube channel Riks as well as the party's communications department, documenting internal discussions on the party's communication strategies. The documentary revealed that at least 23 anonymous social media accounts were actually run from SD's communications department, spreading xenophobic content and satirical attacks on opposing politicians from other parties, including deepfake videos. According to Kalla fakta, posts from these accounts reached 27 million views across social media platforms. SD's head of communication, Joakim Wallerstein, repeated earlier claims that the party does not run any anonymous social media accounts. However, according to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, internal communication reveals that Wallerstein already in 2012 wanted to include anonymous internet campaigns as part of the party's strategy.

In an official response from the Sweden Democrats' leader Jimmie Åkesson, the Kalla fakta documentary was dismissed as a "gigantic, domestic influence operation by the left-liberal establishment". In numerous interviews, SD representatives toned down the content posted on the anonymous accounts as simple satire and humor material. Following the documentary, and the party's response to it, SD received massive criticism from all other Swedish parliamentary parties. The government parties accused SD of not following the Tidö Agreement, which contains a clause about showing respect towards other parties. After a meeting on May 16, SD agreed that some of the anonymous accounts' posts went against the agreement and agreed to delete 45 posts. They did not agree to stop running anonymous accounts but said they would use a softer tone towards parties in the Tidö coalition.