The Indian diaspora and it’s perception of the Swedish 2018 election
Only three days after I moved to Sweden in 2017, my husband came back home limping from a severe cricket injury. Not knowing anything about this new country, I was more anxious about what one does in situations like this than worry about him and his leg. We called for a taxi and went to the emergency room at around 5 pm that evening. I remember coming out of the hospital at 2 am with nothing but an X-ray report. Soon followed multiple visits to a variety of specialists where each one would direct us to the other. After being told that a lot of time was lost already and that his knee had become weaker we were informed he needed surgery.
It was almost ten months later that we finally got a date.
A narrative such as this is something I often hear from the Indian community. While everyone is quite pleased with the quality of life in Sweden, healthcare and its access remain a huge concern. Which now brings me to Sweden’s 2018 parliamentary elections.
But first, let’s lay the groundwork.
The governmental system and the voting process
Today, millions of Swedish voters will go to the polls and elect a new parliament and government which will succeed the Löfven cabinet, the Social Democrat-Green coalition that has been running the country since 2014.
Here in Sweden, there are three different levels of government — the national parliament with 349 seats, 20 county councils and 290 municipal assemblies. Elections are held every four years for each of these three bodies. Swedish citizens and those over 18 can vote for the parliamentary elections. Non-Swedish citizens can vote in the county or municipal elections if they have been permanent residents for three consecutive years before the day of the vote.
Why is this particular election important?
Earlier this year, the world witnessed an extremely dramatic election in Italy as a new government was sworn in, a populist coalition of two far-right winged parties rooted in anti-migrant sentiments.
Only a year after the previous election in 2014, Sweden received almost 163,000 asylum seekers during Europe’s immigration crisis. This has driven immigration, integration and matters related to asylum as one of the most important issues for the 2018 election. This has also given rise to a far-right party, the Sweden Democrats (SD) led by Jimmie Åkesson.
Over the last few months, Sweden has seen a rise in crime rate, following a spate of shootings, attacks and arson. Many link these to the growth in immigration, giving Åkesson’s party a reason to capitalize on the discontentment of many locals. A few other issues laid out in the party’s roster are banning the niqab and burqa in public places and a referendum on Sweden’s membership in the European Union.
The current government strived to strengthen border control and conditions for granting asylum, yet supporters of the SD party are unhappy with the way things are going, given the increase in crime rate.
Apart from the most important issue of migration, the political parties are also talking about healthcare, education, taxation and Sweden’s membership in the European Union, amongst other matters.
How does the Indian community perceive the election?
While the focus concerning migration is largely on asylum seekers, I wanted to understand how the Indian community perceived these elections and how it would impact their lives, if at all. Several common issues came up during my conversations. While the focus concerning migration is largely on asylum seekers, the Indian community is closely watching as some fear this could also impact their future in Sweden. Regardless of who forms the government, many feel policies concerning permanent residence and citizenship would be further strengthened perhaps making it harder for even Indian tax paying citizens to obtain. Residents are also worried about increase in tax without witnessing any additional societal benefits.
And this is also when I come back to my husband’s leg. Almost everyone I spoke to hopes the new government will focus on health care and cut down on waiting time which can commonly go up to 8–10 months.
Sushma Uthappa-Schwerdt, a resident of Lund has now been living in Sweden for over six years. While working in Ikea full time, she realized she felt the need to give back to the community and thus slowly informed herself of the political processes and eventually joined the Liberal Party because of it’s focus on the individual. This year one can find her name on the municipal council ballot for Lund, which will also be voted for on Sunday. Sushma feels strongly about the need for equality to trump culture and religion.
The way ahead
Opinion polls suggest Sweden’s center-left and center-right blocs are running neck to neck ahead of the vote. It is anything but certain that a single winner will emerge. And even though the Sweden Democrats have risen, it seems highly unlikely that they would be able to form the government. Now, only time will tell.
For anyone interested, I would highly recommend following The Local Sweden’s live blog here : https://t.co/VR68G9kcT6?amp=1
