Sweden’s establishment parties united over the weekend in an attempt to isolate and weaken the influence of the populist, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party.
Stefan Lofven, Sweden's centre-left prime minister, called off plans to hold the country's first snap election in 56 years after reaching agreement with the centre-right opposition on rules to make it easier for minority governments to function.
The Sweden Democrats sparked a government crisis by voting against the minority government's budget this month. Mr Lofven called elections but polls suggested neither of the two main blocs – the centre-right Alliance or the ruling centre-left coalition – would gain a majority, while the Sweden Democrats looked set to increase their share of the vote.
Cordon sanitaire
The deal between the six mainstream parties marks a rediscovery of the Nordic country’s famed ability to form a consensus, but it also maintains a
cordon sanitaire
around the Sweden Democrats.
The ostracising of the party – which came third in September’s vote with 13 per cent – stands out in Europe, where some anti-immigration parties have been embraced.
The Danish People’s party supported the minority centre-right government in Copenhagen in 2001-2011 while in Norway the populist Progress party has been in power since last year.
Other countries, such as Finland, have resisted the rise of anti-immigration groups by forming grand coalitions between parties of the left and right but have no formal agreement to exclude the populists.
The isolation of the Sweden Democrats – the party has roots in the neo-Nazi movement and urges a reduction of 90 per cent of the country’s immigration – is reminiscent of the way the far-right Vlaams Blok party was isolated in Belgium during the 1980s and 1990s.
Saturday’s agreement in Sweden between the ruling Social Democrats and Greens as well as the four parties of the Alliance means that Mr Lofven should be able to govern until 2018. He will have to rule with the centre-right’s budget until April, after which it can be changed.
The agreement also covers the 2018 elections and allows for the biggest political bloc to choose a prime minister and pass its budgets even if it only has a minority in parliament. It also calls for left-right co-operation on defence, pensions and energy. But in all other areas Mr Lofven could struggle to find a majority for his proposals.
Jan Bjorklund, leader of the centre-right Liberal party, said: "It is important that there are good alternatives [to the government]. It is unfortunate if the opposition only consists of protest parties."
The Sweden Democrats reacted angrily, with Mattias Karlsson, acting leader, saying the party would table a no-confidence vote in Mr Lofven because "he does not deserve to govern".
Mr Karlsson added: “I think it’s startling that they go against the fundamental principles of democracy.
“What it’s done is introduce a set of rules where a minority can control a majority.”
– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)