The election is over, now the hate and anger must go Sweden deserves better than the election campaign we got

Peter Gustavsson  

 

Published: Today 20.00 

 

Aftonbladet's editorial page is independent social democratic. 

 

LEADER 

 

The polls have closed, and a historic election is over. 

 

Almost every adult Swede has stood behind a screen and put yellow, white and blue ballot papers in envelopes. Now the envelopes must be opened and the ballots counted. 

 

The election marked the end of a unique mandate. It started with it taking four months to form a government. The Riksdag rejected the government's budgets and proposals again and again. Last summer, the Prime Minister was brought down in a vote of no confidence. And last fall, Magdalena Andersson was elected prime minister twice in one week.

 

 

A historic election is over. In the picture, voters are voting in Varberg at Skytteholm School. Photo: Janerik Henriksson / TT 

 

Save for immigrants - or for racists 

 

The parliamentary chaos is a reflection of a social contract that is falling apart. 

 

That has not always been the case. The welfare system since the 1930s has made Sweden and the other Nordic countries strong, and we still top the world's ranking lists in almost every field. An important factor behind our high standard of living is that people in Sweden tend to trust each other. 

 

But now the worry and fear have started to spread. During the election campaign, the Swedes' view of the future has become increasingly dark, according to recent statistics from Kantar Public/Sifo.(enligt färsk statistik från Kantar Public/Sifo.)

 

Some are afraid of immigrants. Others are afraid of those who are afraid of immigrants. Many are afraid of the climate threat. Everyone is afraid of the war and inflation. 

 

The Sweden Democrats have been adept at profiting from this anxiety and fear. The polarization of Swedish politics is a fact. 

 

Inequality is tearing Sweden apart 

 

Behind the conflicts about migration and multiculturalism lies something much bigger. A widespread feeling around Sweden of being abandoned. 

 

Large parts of Sweden have been exempted and lost public services step by step. More and more has been placed on a market, but without being able to deliver where purchasing power is weak. Swedish rural areas have drawn the shortest straw. 

 

Class differences have been increasing for forty years. Faster under bourgeois governments, slower under social democratic ones, but the trend is relentless. 

 

We have gone from a people's home characterized by equality to a society where some have withdrawn, leaving everyone else behind. And the old dream of a life of dignity and solidarity has been replaced by a society of competition and exclusion. 

 

Everyone should join is a long-forgotten slogan. 

 

Heal Sweden together again 

 

No one knows how long it will take before Sweden gets a new government. But regardless of who becomes prime minister and on what mandate, the task is significantly greater than implementing one's government program. 

 

It is to start the process to heal Sweden again. If you are serious about such a project, the focus must be on increasing equality and strengthening society throughout Sweden. From north to south. 

 

From villages and mills to the cities' high-rises and residential carpets. 

 

Otherwise, the forces that live on hatred will only continue to grow stronger.