Sweden’s Whirlwind Election Year

Commentary

When U.S. President Donald Trump, in a Politico interview in December 2025, cited Sweden as a warning sign of European self-delusion, the Nordic country—long associated with progressive ideals and social harmony—found itself back in the crosshairs of American MAGA conservatism.

“Sweden was known as the safest country in Europe, one of the safest countries in the world,” Trump declared. “Now it’s known as a very unsafe—well, pretty unsafe country.”

By blaming unchecked immigration, which he claims has made Europe “weak” and “decaying,” he struck a nerve in a country grappling with serious security concerns.

The reaction in Sweden was a mix of defensiveness, hesitant agreement, and calls for self-examination. While mainstream media outlets criticized the remarks as exaggerated, a vocal segment of the public and conservative commentators treated them as validation of long-standing frustrations with gang violence, rising crime rates, and other integration-related issues. This divide underscores a deeper problem: As Sweden gears up for a general election in mid-September, its welfare system—once generally admired and a symbol of equality—is today strained by demographic changes that have sparked a populist backlash at home and abroad.

Certainly, Trump’s comments were not surprising. Since his first term, the U.S. president has often cited Sweden for its open-door refugee policy during the 2015 migrant crisis, which brought more than 160,000 asylum seekers—many from Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia—to a country of fewer than 10 million. Eight years later, the outcome has validated his claim.

Official stats show a grim picture. Sweden’s homicide rate has doubled since 2012, grenade attacks—nearly unknown a decade ago—now happen about once a week, and sexual offenses have increased, with immigrants overrepresented in many specific categories. Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city, has become a hotspot, with no-go zones affected by bombings linked to drug cartels and clan-based networks. And more.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, whose center-right coalition relies on support from the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, offered a cautious response to Trump’s new comments. In a statement on Dec. 10, 2025, he acknowledged “challenges with integration” but pushed back against Trump’s portrayal. However, he did so by emphasizing Sweden’s NATO membership and strong defense spending as evidence of resilience, not questioning his claims about immigration.

“We are not in denial; we are acting,” Kristersson also said, underscoring plans for stricter deportation rules and increased police funding.

But privately, sources close to the government acknowledge that the timing stings, coming as Sweden and the present administration, while preparing for elections, try to navigate Trump’s “America First” shift, which includes threats of EU-wide tariffs that could harm its export-driven economy.

Public sentiment, as measured by social media and polls, shows deep divisions. On X, Swedish users shared Trump’s clip, sparking mixed reactions of approval and concern. For example, the widely read right-wing blogger “Julia Caesar” (a pseudonym ascribed to former journalist Barbro Joberger at the liberal newspaper Dagens Nyheter) credited Trump with speaking uncomfortable truths. A post by Norwegian journalist Rebecca Mistereggen, which resonated in Swedish circles, warned of “jihadist pressure” and daily violence, urging the United States to prevent Europe’s fate.

Conversely, progressives criticized the rhetoric as xenophobic fearmongering. Aftonbladet, Sweden’s largest tabloid, editorialized that Trump overlooked the country’s low overall crime rates—92 homicides in 2024. It also urged Nordic unity as a “bulwark” against Trump’s leadership. Former Prime Minister Carl Bildt, once a conservative but now an establishment voice and a vocal Atlanticist, compared the new U.S. National Security Strategy—which preceded the interview and warned of Europe’s “civilizational erasure”—to “Kremlin propaganda.”

The Swedish people are divided. However, a Dec. 11, 2025, poll found that 42 percent of Swedes viewed Trump’s comments as “partly fair.” This reflects how years of urban unrest have weakened once-unshakable faith in the multicultural ideal. That shift was also evident already in Sweden’s 2022 election, when the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats became the country’s second-largest party, winning more than 20 percent of the vote. This highlights Sweden’s paradox of mass immigration. The influx, celebrated as a humanitarian success, has become a political burden. The Sweden Democrats, once taboo, now hold the swing votes and advance policies such as benefit cuts for noncitizens. Still, denial persists among elites.

In sum, this year’s election campaign may become one of Sweden’s toughest in years. Besides immigration, economic woes, high unemployment, and dissatisfaction with the present government’s slow, if steady, policy changes, a malaise has long been associated with the political left, led by the Social Democrats, which has held a steady lead in the polls. However, at the same time, most Swedes remember that it was the previous left-wing government that allowed mass immigration—and with it, crime, welfare, and economic problems—to spiral out of control in the first place. Too, several of the country’s eight parties, including two of the present three-party government, are hovering around the 4 percent parliamentary threshold.

Thus, Sweden is preparing for an election campaign marked by many moving targets and few certainties.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.