About-turn in liberal Sweden

 In the words of the Bloomberg report, liberal Sweden is catching the "populist chill" which is sweeping the EU. After Sunday's election, 

The nationalist Sweden Democrats [(SD)], whose leader Jimmie Akesson campaigned on a platform of zero-tolerance to crime and slashing immigration to a bare minimum, are now the second political force in a country once known for its liberalism.

The leader of the Moderate (conservative) party, which finished third in the poll behind the outgoing Social Democrats and the SD, aims to form a coalition which would also include the Swedish Liberal party. The Moderates and Liberals will no doubt attempt to resist the SD's demands, but being the largest party in the coalition, they can hardly be denied some ministerial posts.

The Swedish Democrats have emerged from an earlier neo-Nazi party. Nazism has been steadily on the rise over the last thirty years or so, more so than in most Scandinavian countries. Sweden's treatment of immigrants is probably the most generous in Europe, which has enriched her society but no doubt contributed to the ultra-nationalist backlash. Now the danger is that she makes common cause with the even more xenophobic administration in Hungary, exacerbating tensions within the Union. 

Update 2022-09-16: EU parliament now views Hungary as an "elected autocracy". The Union does have the sanction of withdrawing support funds to bring Hungary back into line. This would not work with Sweden, who is a net contributor.