Party of the Swedes
| Party of the Swedes Svenskarnas parti |
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|---|---|
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| Founded | 22 November 2008 |
| Dissolved | 10 May 2015 |
| Preceded by | National Socialist Front |
| Headquarters | Stockholm |
| Newspaper | Realisten |
| Ideology | Swedish nationalism Neo-Nazism[1][2][3][4] |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Colours | Black, yellow |
| Website | |
| Svenskarnasparti.se | |
| Politics of Sweden Political parties Elections |
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Party of the Swedes (Swedish: Svenskarnas parti) was a neo-Nazi[1][2][3][4] political party in Sweden. The party described itself as nationalist and sought to limit Swedish citizenship to individuals that belong to the "Western genetic and cultural legacy".[5] Since 2013 its party leader has been Stefan Jacobsson. The party dissolved on 10 May 2015 due to lack of members.[6]
The Aegishjálmur rune was the official svp symbol since it originated as Folkfronten ("the people's front"), a neo-Nazi party founded in 2008 by members of the National Socialist Front (NSF), the largest Swedish Nazi party at the time. The current name was introduced in 2009 after socialist activists registered NSF's name with the Election Authority of Sweden, blocking its use.
The party's only electoral success was one municipal mandate in 2010 in the small community of Grästorp in Västra Götaland in western Sweden. The mandate was lost after it was revealed that their representative, Daniel Höglund, was not registered as a resident, which is a requirement for members of municipal councils in Sweden. In the Swedish general election, 2014 the party polled 0.07% with 4,189 votes. The decision to disband came seven months later.
Contents
History[edit]
The party was founded as Folkfronten ("the people's front") in November 2008 by members of the now-defunct National Socialist Front and is chaired by Stefan Jacobsson.[7] The name of the party was changed in 2009 to avoid confusion and loss of votes in the 2010 election. When the party filed an application to the Election Authority of Sweden it became apparent that a newly established socialist group had been registered under the same name only weeks before to block its use.[8]
In the 2010 elections the party received 102 votes (2.8%) in the elections to municipal council in Grästorp, giving them one mandate. According to the anti-racist watchdog magazine Expo, this made them the first National Socialist party to win a seat in a Swedish political assembly since the end of World War II.[9][10] At the second council meeting after the election, the policies for public tenders was to be decided and the initial proposal gave preference to bidders with higher health and safety standards and lower environmental impact. Party of the Swedes representative Daniel Höglund managed to gather support for an additional sentence in the paragraph on the latter, that meant that Swedish labourers and companies should be given preference over foreign bidders, given the potential differences in travel distance. Other representatives later told reporters from the newspaper Expressen that this had appeared innocuous, but when later reflecting upon the consequences they recanted the decision and ensured that his suggestion would not have any influence on tenders.[11]
A prerequisite for a mandate in Swedish municipal councils is residence in that municipality. After a few weeks and after the official records were reviewed, it was revealed that Höglund was registered as living in the neighbouring municipality and he was deprived of his seat. Höglund was the only name on the printed ballot. Small parties often let their ballot remain unlocked, meaning that voters can add additional candidates to the ballot themselves. On one of the ballots someone had written the name of another party member, Krister Johansson. He declined to fill the seat and consequently the party was unable to fill its seat in the council for the rest of the term. According to Höglund, Johansson's unwillingness to sit was motivated by fear of losing his job; the largest customer of the company that Johansson worked at had said that they would cease buying their services if they had an employee representing a racist party in an elected assembly.[12]
Though receiving no votes at all, the party gained another seat in Nykvarn Municipality, when an independent member joined the Party of the Swedes. The councilman was originally elected for the National Democrats, who received two members in the election of 2010.[13] The party gained a third councilman in the Mönsterås municipal council when a former representative for the Sweden Democrats joined the party. Two Sweden Democrats defected to the party in Hedemora city council, though one of them soon left the Party of the Swedes as well, reducing the number of active representatives to three. The only elected seat, in Grästorp, has remained unfilled.[14][15] Following the general election in 2014 the party lost its only seat in the municipal council in Grästorp.[16]
Ideology[edit]
The party described its ideology as nationalism with a belief in the importance of genetic inheritance.
Party leaders[edit]
- Daniel Höglund 2008-2013
- Stefan Jacobsson 2013–present
Electoral results[edit]
Parliament (Riksdag)[edit]
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats won | +/- | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 681 | 0.01 |
0 / 349
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| 2014 | 4,189 | 0.07 |
0 / 349
|
 0 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Lövestadsbo tar över extremparti - Sjöbo - Skånskan.se". Skanskan.se. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ a b "Expo: "Nazister som bytt skepnad" - Sjöbo - Skånskan.se". Skanskan.se. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ a b "Nazistläger gick lugnt till - Sydsvenskan". Sydsvenskan.se. 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ a b "Tema: Svenskarnas Parti". Expo.se. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ "Punktprogram | Svenskarnas parti". Svenskarnasparti.se. 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2011-07-07. Swedish: "Endast människor som tillhör det västerländska genetiska och kulturella arvet."
- ^ "Nynazistiska Svenskarnas parti lägger ned". dn.se. 2015-05-10. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
- ^ "at". Den-svenske.com. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ "Revolutionära Fronten". Revfront.org. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ Alexander Bengtsson Anders Dalsbro (2010-09-20). "EXTRA: Nazistparti tar kommunalt mandat". Expo.se. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Så lurade nazist hela fullmäktige | GT". Gt.expressen.se. 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ "Svenskarnas parti lämnar Grästorp - Nyheter P4 Skaraborg | Sveriges Radio". Sverigesradio.se. 2004-12-26. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
- ^ "Nazisterna får mandat i Nykvarns kommun | Nyheter | Expressen". Expressen.se. 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ "Politik - Senaste inrikespolitiska nyheterna". DN.se. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ "Svenskarnas parti får mandat i kommunerna | Anna-Lena Lodenius". Al-lodenius.com. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ "Grästorp - Valda - Val 2014". Val.se. 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
External links[edit]
- (Swedish) Official website of Party of the Swedes
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