The ruling pro-open borders Swedish Social Democrats may be facing their worst election result in the history of the party, in polling just weeks before the country votes in the next national election.
The ruling Social Democrats, who saw their worst election result ever in 2010 with 30.7 percent of the vote, may be facing an even greater loss according to a newly released poll from polling firm Inizio which puts the party at just 24.6 percent, Aftonbladet reports.
The current measurement puts the Social Democrat’s coalition with the Greens and the Left Party nearly neck and neck with the centrist Alliance of the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Centre Party, and the Liberals.
The populist Sweden Democrats are also on track to make gains in the Swedish parliament rising from 12.9 percent in the previous election in 2014, to 18.8 percent in the Inizio poll.
Others such as a recent Ipsos poll have put the Sweden Democrats ahead of the Moderates by a small margin.
The populist party have managed to greatly increase their support in recent years with their anti-mass migration policies with leader Jimmie Åkesson winning a leaders debate earlier this year that focused on several subjects including crime and immigration.
The party has also called for a referendum on Swedish membership in the European Union, with Åkesson doubling down on wanting to leave the political bloc last week saying, “The EU is a supranational political union where other countries’ politicians, for which we cannot vote… have greater influence over Swedish legislation than I have in Sweden’s parliament.”
Another major issue leading to the vote has been the rise of criminal gang violence and shootings across Sweden. Earlier this year in the heavily-migrant populated city of Malmö a mass shooting, which was later linked to gang violence, rocked the country.
Only a week ago the coordinated mass burning of dozens of cars across several cities, also shocked the country with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, leader of the Social Democrats, commenting, “It seems very organized, almost like a military operation.”
This year will also see the first time in Swedish electoral history that the election will be observed by the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE) who will be sending two observers to look specifically at campaign financing and making sure ballots reach voters in the more rural areas of the country.
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