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Sweden has long been viewed as one of the world’s most progressive countries. Even the traditionally conservative parties—the Moderates and the Christian Democrats—had eventually abandoned conservatism, starting in the 1990s, to become progressive liberals instead.
Marxists—Social Democrats and former communists—could then join forces with liberals from various right-wing parties to push for even greater gender equality in a nation that was already among the most egalitarian in the world, and for increased immigration in one of the West’s most multicultural societies.
Yet, a backlash was inevitable. A small party originally founded by young men critical of immigration—the Sweden Democrats—grew increasingly strong during the first decade of the 2000s. When the party entered the Swedish parliament in 2010 and needed to broaden its profile, its leaders chose to rebrand the party’s ideological stance from “nationalism” to “social conservatism.”
In doing so, the Sweden Democrats hit upon an unbeatable proposition: Sweden cannot rely solely on progressivism, openness, norm-critical thinking, Marxism, and liberalism. Sweden also needs common sense, tradition, sound authority, controlled immigration, a stable defense, and a sensible view of gender and gender differences.
The other parties were forced to adapt. This was not only because the conservative Sweden Democrats were gaining ground, but also because the ideological winds in Swedish society—and across the globe—were shifting. Conservative, right-wing nationalist parties began to rise throughout Europe, and Donald Trump was elected president in the United States.
But the question is perhaps just how conservative the Swedish voters who support the Sweden Democrats are. There is no research or statistical data indicating that these specific voters are more religious than other voters, nor that they are more likely to maintain lasting marriages or possess greater knowledge of Swedish history and culture than other Swedes.
Drawing on personal experience, I can also observe that Swedes who vote for the Sweden Democrats do not exactly lead more conservative lives than other Swedes.
In an international context, Swedes are not a conservative people. On the global cultural map produced by the World Values Survey, Sweden is positioned in the top right-hand corner. Protestant Europe represents the cultural sphere located furthest to the top right, and among the countries in this category, Sweden is the one that has gone the furthest in terms of both secular thinking and individualism.
Yet the Sweden Democrats are a conservative party, and they have succeeded in bringing others along in a conservative shift within Swedish society.
As we know, everything can be viewed in relative terms. Perhaps “conservatism” in Sweden—and in comparable EU countries—is largely about people saying no to extreme progressivism.
What we have seen over the past decade is perhaps not so much a genuine shift toward a conservative right—centered on family, tradition, and nationalism—as a movement away from a radical left that has reached a dead end. Naturally, voters are shifting to the right, but it would be a mistake to assume they have become particularly religious or more committed to staying married.
It is true that researchers have for some time argued that young people in Sweden and Europe are becoming increasingly conservative. However, this trend applies primarily to young people, not the population as a whole. While there is indeed a certain conservative trend among the youth, there is simultaneously a wave of left-wing sentiment in society, particularly among young women. Furthermore, in the parliamentary election held in Sweden on September 13, the four right-wing parties lost their parliamentary majority to the left-wing parties.
Thus, the new conservatism in Sweden is likely, to a large extent, a “common-sense” conservatism—a balanced, middle-of-the-road approach. Voters want a reasonable migration policy and a balanced climate policy. They want to move away from decades of progressive thinking in criminal justice and education. Many voters are also weary of ideas regarding gender and gender identity that seem detached from reality.
It is possible that the reason the Sweden Democrats lost three percentage points in the September election is that several other parties have also concluded that Sweden needs more balance and common sense, and fewer left-leaning social experiments. Political trends can thus be said to be moving in a conservative direction. But Swedes probably aren’t particularly conservative after all.