The leader of the conservative, sovereigntist Sweden Democrats presented the party’s central European campaign message on Thursday, ahead of EU elections in June that will determine the bloc’s fate over the next five years and beyond.
Like other parties in the European Conservatives & Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID) groupings, the Sweden Democrats have placed the need to stop mass migration at the top of their campaign priorities. They poll presently in second place, with 21% of the projected national vote.
Speaking at a press conference, party leader Jimmie Åkesson unveiled the slogan that will appear on the party’s campaign posters: “My Europe Builds Walls: Against Immigration, Against Criminal Gangs, Against Islamists.”
The slogan was crafted to communicate the party’s goal of a radically different course for Sweden and Europe to the one followed for years by left-liberal ‘elites.’ It alludes to a speech delivered by former Prime Minister Stefan Löfven amidst the migration turmoil engulfing the continent in the autumn of 2015.
In the address, delivered shortly after then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “Wir schaffen das” speech, Löfven, a social democrat, proclaimed: “We need to decide right now what kind of Europe we are going to be. My Europe takes in refugees. My Europe doesn’t build walls.”
The former prime minister’s positions, Åkesson pointed out, have had “grave consequences for our country and its development.” The pro-mass migration policies pursued by Löfven and the previous socialist democratic-led government have burdened Sweden economically, socially, and most notably culturally, he declared.
“Segregation, slums, unemployment, clan rule, gang crime, Islamism, terrorism, corruption, a hollowed-out welfare system, low growth, housing shortages, and large numbers of people dependent on welfare benefits” are but some of the problems facing Sweden as a result of the course pursued by establishment politicians, Åkesson continued.
“I can say with confidence that those of us who warned early on about these consequences were right,” he said, highlighting that a sizable majority of the population has come to realize that early warnings from the Sweden Democrats were indeed justified.
In light of the significant shift in public opinion, Åkesson says it is “unavoidable not to let migration policy be a crucial part of this election and our election campaign.”
“Unlike Stefan Löfven and the Social Democrats, we believe that freedom and security require walls and borders. What is not stopped at the border reaches our schoolyards, our streets, our squares, and our homes. Securing Europe’s and of course, Sweden’s borders, is, therefore, the single most important European policy issue for the Sweden Democrats,” the Sweden Democrats’ chief concluded.
The party will present its election manifesto at the beginning of next week.
