Sweden Democrats
Sverigedemokraterna |
|
---|---|
Abbreviation | SD |
Party chairman | Jimmie Åkesson |
Party secretary | Richard Jomshof |
Parliamentary group leader | Mattias Karlsson |
Founded | 6 February 1988 |
Headquarters | |
Newspaper | SD-Kuriren |
Youth wing |
Sweden Democratic Youth (1998–2015) Young Swedes SDU (2015–present) |
Membership | 24,291 (February 2016) |
Ideology |
Swedish nationalism Economic nationalism Social conservatism National conservatism Right-wing populism Hard Euroscepticism Ethnopluralism Anti-immigration |
Political position | Right-wing to far-right |
European affiliation | Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe |
European Parliament group | Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy |
Colours | Yellow |
Riksdag |
49 / 349
|
European Parliament |
2 / 20
|
County Councils |
161 / 1,597
|
Municipal Councils |
1,324 / 12,780
|
Website | |
sd.se | |
Sweden Democrats or Swedish Democrats (Swedish: Sverigedemokraterna, SD) is a nationalist political party in Sweden that was founded in 1988. The party describes itself as social conservative with a nationalist foundation, however the party has been described as far-right,right-wing populist,national-conservative, and anti-immigration. The party had its roots in Swedish fascism and was a part of the white supremacy movement in the late-1980s; initially, it was characterized by right-wing extremism and activism. Among the founding party officials were several people that had formerly expressed strong support for the ideology of Nazism. SD's logo from the 1990s was a version of the torch used by the UK National Front, until it was changed to an Anemone hepatica flower in 2006 (Swedish: blåsippa).Jimmie Åkesson has been party chairman since 2005.
In the 2010 general election the Sweden Democrats crossed the 4% threshold necessary for parliamentary representation for the first time. This increase in popularity has been compared by international media to other similar anti-immigration movements in Europe. The party polled 5.7% and won 20 parliamentary seats.
The Sweden Democrats continued this success in the 2014 general election, polling 12.9% and winning 49 seats in the Riksdag, a 14% share of the seats. The Sweden Democrats, however, remain isolated in the Riksdag because the other parties are staunchly maintaining a policy of refusing cooperation with them.