Jenny Goes to Sweden

Jenny Hill, in the dark with a female Syrian migrant to Sweden

Writing on Twitter, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson had this to say this morning:

Some UK newspapers today run pictures of a nutty skinhead rally in Sweden as if to illustrate a nation going Nazi. A myth hard to puncture as no one wants to say a good word about the Sweden Democrats, but it fundamentally misjudges what’s going on over there. Even BBC News describes Sweden Democrats in one sentence “has roots in neonazi movement”. Åkesson has not a single policy that is more extreme than, say, UKIP, that so recently finished no1 in UK euro elections. This is populism, but certainly not Nazism.

Indeed, the party, as per Wikipedia, has moved so far away from its Neo-Nazi beginnings that it now sits in the same group as the UK Conservative Party in the European parliament. 

Regardless of that though, the BBC's new bulletins today have been saying things like: 

Opinion polls suggest that the Sweden Democrats, who have roots in the Neo-Nazi movement, will take about 20% of the vote. 

(That was from Today's 8 o'clock news bulletin.)

One reply to Fraser's tweet read:

You say "Even BBC News" as if it comes as a surprise to you. Their portrayal of anything outside of the political norm and not of the left is described as far-right. The report by Jenny Hill was the usual one-sided garbage. 

Jenny Hill's report on Today this morning began with Peter making jokes about elections and ended with a Swedish woman who "worries about where the country is going" and, with a little prompting from Jenny, classes the Sweden Democrats as one of the "evil forces" in the country. 

In between came a short interview with a councillor for the Sweden Democrats, which, Jenny said, "began life as a Neo-Nazi party. It doesn't like the EU and it doesn't like migrants". 

She asked him such questions as:

Is it responsible as a political party to spread this kind of message of fear?

and, concerning the party's desire for a Swexit from the EU:

And having seen the political complications that Brexit is involving, does that not put you off?

Does that count as "the usual one-sided garbage?"

Jenny Hill, in a car with a Sweden Democrat politician

Well, for a fuller taste of Jenny Hill's reporting from Sweden, here's her report for last night's BBC News at Ten. 

It is textbook Jenny Hill, from the labelling to the undercutting of the right-wing politician ("even though its falling"), the loaded questions, the contrasting treatment of the two politicians,  the talk of "hundreds of thousands of people...seeking asylum on Sweden's shores" (when many if not most were migrants not asylum seekers), the choice of a sad-looking, young female Syrian refugee (rather than a male migrant) to illustrate the migrants' side of the story, and the closing imagery of a "rich, secure" Sweden imperilled by 'dragging' right-wing currents:

Viking battle re-enactor: Today we fight. 

Jenny Hill: And it's a battle for the soul of this country. As they recreate Sweden's past, populists fight the establishment for its future.

Bjorn Buttler Jakobsen, Viking enthusiast: They are the voice of the people. They are sort of taking the people's voice and putting it into politics. 

He's talking about the Sweden Democrats. Once a neo-Nazi party, they don't like the EU and they don't like migrants.

Helmuth Petersen, Sweden Democrats: This is where they live, where they live. They put cars on fire. It's very common. 

They blame them for crime, even though it's falling.

Helmuth Petersen, Sweden Democrats: If they say it's more safe now it's false, because there is much more of the gang violence, the gang rapes. Some things wasn't before, but now it's all the time. All the time.
Jenny Hill: Is it responsible as a political party, to spread this kind of message of fear?
Helmuth Petersen, Sweden Democrats: Yes, yes.
Jenny Hill: Why?
Helmuth Petersen, Sweden Democrats: It's information for the citizen.
Jenny Hill: And have you met any of the asylum seekers who still live in the town?
Helmuth Petersen, Sweden Democrats: No, no. I'm not interested. 

It's three year since hundreds of thousands of people began to seek asylum on Sweden's shores. Other issues, health, the environment dominate now, and yet it's migration which could yet change the political landscape.

Torbjorn Karlsson, Trelleborg mayor: Apparently, classical parties like we, we do not provide a vision of the future, which is really attractive, so we are doing something wrong.
Jenny Hill: Is Sweden changing as a country?
Torbjorn Karlsson, Trelleborg mayor: Well, perhaps not more than other countries, I would say. Maybe we are turning to be more like a normal European country. 

The Vikings are long gone. Perhaps Sweden's liberal era is ending too. This Syrian refugee is now part of the Viking clan. Even so, Manal knows, she tells us, there are people who don't like foreigners. "When I meet them", she says, "I tell them I'm learning Swedish, I have a job here." As political currents drag Europe to the right, even Sweden, rich, secure, may not be able to resist. Jenny Hill, BBC News, Trelleborg.