What happened
Isobel Hadley-Kamptz writes in an editorial in Dagens Nyheter that corruption is a common denominator for the global radical right alongside racism and contempt for democracy. She highlights examples from Brazil, Serbia, Israel, Hungary, and the USA where right-wing leaders have been suspected of or lost power due to bribery and financial crime. According to the writer, corruption aligns with an ideology that dismisses rule-of-law principles and believes certain groups have an inherent right to power. Hadley-Kamptz points to Donald Trump as the clearest example, but notes at the same time that voters in several countries have finally grown tired of the leaders' swindling.
Our analysis
When the populist and anti-immigration right speaks of law and order, the spotlight is directed almost exclusively at new Swedes. Warnings are issued about benefit fraud and flawed conduct among people toiling in welfare's most underpaid occupations. Meanwhile, international developments show what really happens when the same forces attain power: the rules are dismantled for their own friends at the top.
Casting suspicion on minorities functions as a proven smokescreen. By whipping up fear and singling out scapegoats, acceptance is created for weakening institutions, silencing investigative media, and putting the principles of the rule of law on pause. Those hit hardest by such an erosion are always the most vulnerable, while the rulers themselves escape scrutiny.
Both old and new Swedes pay the bill for this policy when common resources disappear and democracy is weakened. The real societal danger is not those struggling to establish themselves in the country, but leaders who consider themselves above the law.