Sweden’s Far‑Right Campaign Sparks Fear at Stockholm Central Station

Stockholm, Sweden – Neira Tokalija, a 39‑year‑old therapist, saw the slogans of Sweden’s far‑right party plastered wall‑to‑wall across Stockholm Central Station and felt a familiar sense of fear. As a child she had fled Bosnia and Herzegovina with her family after ethnic cleansing campaigns targeted Bosniaks.

After witnessing dozens of campaign posters and installations by the Sweden Democrats (SD)—a party with neo‑Nazi roots—Tokalija said, “It made me feel like it doesn’t matter how much I try as a second‑generation immigrant; I’ll never be Swedish enough.”

SD spent roughly $100,000 on the station campaign, featuring posters that read, “If you commit crimes, live off benefits, don’t learn Swedish or misbehave, you’re not welcome.”

The ads appeared weeks before Sweden’s general election on September 13. Polling placed SD in second place, and the party could enter government for the first time if the right‑wing bloc secures power.

Tokalija described the week‑long mid‑August messaging as evoking a deep historical trauma.

‘Do you miss Mogadishu?’

SD also launched separate campaigns across Sweden’s transport networks. In western Sweden, the party displayed provocative bus advertisements that read: “Do you miss Mogadishu? The repatriation grant will help you get home.”

The grant, originally introduced by a Social Democratic government in the 1980s, offered refugees about $1,000 to resettle in their home countries. This year the centre‑right coalition government, working with SD, increased the amount to roughly $36,000 per adult.

About 20 bus drivers of Somali origin called in sick in protest, citing fear of harassment and concerns over safety and vandalism. The public transport operator Vasttrafik subsequently removed the posters.

Zina al‑Dewany, a political commentator for Aftonbladet, told Al Jazeera the plan was designed to shock. “SD often runs campaigns that ‘provoke a bit too much,’ but when they are forced to take them down, the party claims to be the victim,” she said.

Following the removal, SD MP Tobias Andersson called the decision censorship and “election sabotage.”

Normalisation of SD

For decades Sweden’s political establishment treated SD as a pariah. However, a deadlock after the 2018 general election forced right‑wing parties to reconsider their alliances. In subsequent years, meetings between SD, the Christian Democrats, and the Moderate Party took place.

In October 2022 the Liberals opened the door to SD, and four right‑wing party leaders signed a landmark 62‑page contract—known as the “Tido Agreement”—establishing the current coalition government.

May 2026 marked another breakthrough when Simona Mohamsson, the Liberal leader and minister for education and integration, announced her party would allow SD to participate in a future government. Mohamsson, born in Germany to a Palestinian father and a Lebanese mother, moved to Sweden at age eight and is known for her anti‑racism activism.

After her announcement, SD leader Jimmie Akesson offered a handshake; Mohamsson embraced him—a moment that sent shockwaves through Swedish politics.

‘Bad vibes’

Staff working in the cafés and shops around Central Station during SD’s week‑long campaign felt the audacity was a product of years of normalisation. “The scale surprised me,” said Ester, a barista, while her colleague Aya noted the ads created “bad vibes” at the station for that week.

The government’s emphasis on repatriation, coupled with recent scandals, has unsettled many. In February the Swedish Migration Agency ordered the deportation of an eight‑month‑old boy, Emanuel, to Iran while the rest of his family retained their permits. Around the same time, teenagers who grew up in Sweden were told to leave at age 18, a practice the government later suspended and began reforming.

A station worker, who asked to remain anonymous, collected donations for a charity aiding Palestinians in Gaza. Though distressed by the campaign, he said the backlash spurred generous responses, with the charity receiving far more contributions than usual during the week.

Al‑Dewany also sees a glimmer of hope, arguing that SD has reached “peak populism.” Its focus on immigration, she says, is backfiring as the government’s own repatriation scandals start to cost the party voters rather than win them. Late‑August polls placed SD between 18‑19 percent, down from 20.5 percent in 2022.

Tokalija, whose partner is from Mozambique, recalled arriving in Sweden with “Swedish warmth” and curiosity about other cultures. While she believes that spirit endures among many Swedes today, she notes a shift in rhetoric—immigrants are now often portrayed as “money‑seekers” and pressured to “fully adapt,” erasing multicultural and Muslim identities and presenting a choice between total assimilation or total exclusion—a dynamic she likens to the fascist ideologies she once fled.

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