To save pensions and social benefits, Sweden needs to increase—not halt—immigration. That’s the message from Jamal El-Haj, a former Social Democrat, now independent MP who resigned from his party under pressure because of unsightly ties to the terror organization Hamas.
Pointing to Canada and Australia, he says in an op-ed, “If we had followed their development, today, we would be between 20 and 26 million people—with a stronger tax base and more people in employment.” Sweden currently has around 10 million people.
Blaming the Sweden Democrats (SD) for blocking policies that would see to “the actual needs” of the country, El-Haj also accused his former party (S) of “adapting their rhetoric” for fear of losing voters.
SD’s Jessica Stegrud, in response, pointed out that the number of residents doesn’t determine the quality of a welfare state. If that were the case, she said, Nigeria, with 230 million people, would have a better welfare system than Luxembourg, which has fewer than a million. “The development in Sweden clearly shows how migration has, in practice, worsened the welfare system,” Stegrud said, adding,
Actual immigration over the past 30 years has increased unemployment, raised the proportion of people living on social welfare, and put a strain on healthcare and practically the entire welfare sector. Additionally, it has contributed to more serious crime, including shootings and rapes.
El-Haj, who was unsuccessfully courted by Muslim party Nyans after leaving the Social Democrats, has started a new party—the Unity Party—founded largely with the support of Muslim clerics. This has raised concerns that the party could, despite El-Haj’s claims to the contrary, become a platform for Islamist influence—a worry that is reinforced by his previous involvement with terror-designated actors.
