The Left Stumbles in Sweden, Social Democracy's Heartland
The Social Democrats staved off the worst in Sunday’s elections. But with their base cracking and right-wing populism on the rise, an ominous future lies ahead.
, Sweden — Four days before Swedish voters went to the polls, Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, took the stage at a rally in this small town 40 miles northwest of Stockholm. Sánchez was in town to offer his pitch for Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, a fellow center-left politician and the head of Sweden’s Social Democrats. The Swedish Social Democrats, Sanchez argued, were no mere national party: They offered a “message of hope” for like-minded parties across Europe, and their success or failure would echo far beyond their borders. “The example of Swedish social democracy has inspired socialists across the continent, and in my
