Ten years ago the then prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt asked Swedes to “open your hearts” to refugees. Now the country’s migration minister is celebrating the fact Sweden has “negative net immigration”, with more people thought to be leaving the country than entering for the first time in more than half a century.
“The number of asylum applications is heading towards a historically low level, asylum-related residence permits continue to decrease and for the first time in 50 years Sweden has net emigration,” Maria Malmer Stenergard announced earlier this month.
Sweden’s Moderate-led government, which is supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats, has pursued increasingly restrictive asylum policies, including plans for a “snitch law” that would legally require public sector workers to report undocumented people.
The Swedes are realizing the horrid mistake they made.
