In the early months of COVID, as one government after the other enforced lockdowns and mask mandates, one country stood as the outlier: Sweden. Going it alone against prevailing left-wing thinking was an unusual way to make headlines for the poster child of European progressivism.
Sweden and its Nordic neighbors make for an unexpected addition to the list of countries where the European Right has achieved victories in the past decade, including Orbán’s Hungary, Meloni’s Italy, and a Brexit UK. Poland and Spain, where elections this year will determine the fates of the incumbent Law and Justice party and the rising VOX party, will receive much attention as a test of the phenomenon’s durability. The Nordic countries, though, will also be worth keeping an eye on.
