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POLITICS

IN BRIEF: What’s Sweden’s newest party and what does it want?

Two of Sweden's most divisive political figures have launched Folklistan, a new party with just a few months to go until the EU elections.

Published: 11 April 2024 14:49 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:51 CEST
IN BRIEF: What's Sweden's newest party and what does it want?
Sara Skyttedal and Jan Emanuel board a helicopter after presenting their new party. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

What’s Folklistan?

A new party started up by ousted Christian Democrat MEP Sara Skyttedal and former Social Democrat MP Jan Emanuel.

What do they want?

They’re running for the election to the European Parliament in June.

As for their political platform, they had by mid-April put forward only two policies (but another eight are expected): scrapping asylum rights and renegotiating Sweden’s EU membership. Neither of these issues are single-handedly initiated or decided by the European Parliament.

They say they prefer not to think of themselves as a traditional party, and more like a gathering of politicians who are fed up with having to toe the party line, such as Skyttedal from a right-wing Christian Democrat background and Emanuel from the centre-left Social Democrats.

Who are they?

The party’s two main figureheads are Jan Emanuel and Sara Skyttedal.

Skyttedal, after a history of butting heads with Christian Democrat management, was in January abruptly replaced as the party’s top EU candidate on the grounds that she had betrayed her party by offering help to the Sweden Democrats after the Christian Democrats had already tried to remove her.

Emanuel has previously held political roles for the Social Democrats, including on a municipal level and as a member of parliament. He also won the Swedish version of Survivor in 2001. He has long advocated for a more open relationship with the far-right Sweden Democrats and in the run-up to the 2022 election took part in a so-called “conversation tour” with Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson among others.

EUROPEAN ELECTIONS:

The party’s other four top candidates so far are:

Hans Palo, a Social Democrat from Övertorneå in northern Sweden.

Amilia Stapelfeldt, a political influencer who defines herself as independent-liberal but with her background in the Moderates.

Peter Söderlund, a former senior member of the Green Party who helped start up Kris, an organisation that helps former criminals return to a life without crime.

Håkan Wretsell, a former Christian Democrat and founder of local party Bättre Vellinge in the far south of Sweden.

Their ballot is however described as open, which means anyone can join and run for the EU parliament.

How will they fare in the EU election?

The party consists of a motley crew of people so it’s hard to say. 

Neither Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch, nor Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson seemed too worried when they were asked by reporters, although Andersson pointed out that she thought the risk they would snatch voters from right-wing parties was greater than from the left.

Then again, Skyttedal has built up a lot of personal support over the years and Emanuel has a huge social media following. And even if they don’t manage to get into the European Parliament themselves, their performance could affect other parties’ chances of winning seats.

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POLITICS

‘Very little debate’ on consequences of Sweden’s crime and migration clampdown

Sweden’s political leaders are putting the population’s well-being at risk by moving the country in a more authoritarian direction, according to a recent report.

Published: 29 April 2024 08:56 CEST
'Very little debate' on consequences of Sweden's crime and migration clampdown

The Liberties Rule of Law report shows Sweden backsliding across more areas than any other of the 19 European Union member states monitored, fuelling concerns that the country risks breaching its international human rights obligations, the report says.

“We’ve seen this regression in other countries for a number of years, such as Poland and Hungary, but now we see it also in countries like Sweden,” says John Stauffer, legal director of the human rights organisation Civil Rights Defenders, which co-authored the Swedish section of the report.

The report, compiled by independent civil liberties groups, examines six common challenges facing European Union member states.

Sweden is shown to be regressing in five of these areas: the justice system, media environment, checks and balances, enabling framework for civil society and systemic human rights issues.

The only area where Sweden has not regressed since 2022 is in its anti-corruption framework, where there has been no movement in either a positive or negative direction.

Source: Liberties Rule of Law report

As politicians scramble to combat an escalation in gang crime, laws are being rushed through with too little consideration for basic rights, according to Civil Rights Defenders.

Stauffer cites Sweden’s new stop-and-search zones as a case in point. From April 25th, police in Sweden can temporarily declare any area a “security zone” if there is deemed to be a risk of shootings or explosive attacks stemming from gang conflicts.

Once an area has received this designation, police will be able to search people and cars in the area without any concrete suspicion.

“This is definitely a piece of legislation where we see that it’s problematic from a human rights perspective,” says Stauffer, adding that it “will result in ethnic profiling and discrimination”.

Civil Rights Defenders sought to prevent the new law and will try to challenge it in the courts once it comes into force, Stauffer tells The Local in an interview for the Sweden in Focus Extra podcast. 

He also notes that victims of racial discrimination at the hands of the Swedish authorities had very little chance of getting a fair hearing as actions by the police or judiciary are “not even covered by the Discrimination Act”.

READ ALSO: ‘Civil rights groups in Sweden can fight this government’s repressive proposals’

Stauffer also expresses concerns that an ongoing migration clampdown risks splitting Sweden into a sort of A and B team, where “the government limits access to rights based on your legal basis for being in the country”.

The report says the government’s migration policies take a “divisive ‘us vs them’ approach, which threatens to increase rather than reduce existing social inequalities and exclude certain groups from becoming part of society”.

Proposals such as the introduction of a requirement for civil servants to report undocumented migrants to the authorities would increase societal mistrust and ultimately weaken the rule of law in Sweden, the report says.

The lack of opposition to the kind of surveillance measures that might previously have sparked an outcry is a major concern, says Stauffer.

Politicians’ consistent depiction of Sweden as a country in crisis “affects the public and creates support for these harsh measures”, says Stauffer. “And there is very little talk and debate about the negative consequences.”

Hear John Stauffer from Civil Rights Defender discuss the Liberties Rule of Law report in the The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers.

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