The political earthquake that failed to shake the Swedish parliament

Cultures · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 2018, a group of expelled youth activists promised Sweden its biggest political earthquake in modern times. They traded their seats in the mainstream right for a radical platform of forced remigration and EU withdrawal, aiming to dismantle the current establishment from the outside.

Alternative for Sweden (AFS) originated from a 2015 schism within the Sweden Democrats. After accusations of ties to ethnonationalist groups and racist rhetoric, the mother party expelled youth leaders Gustav Kasselstrand and William Hahne. The split deepened in September 2015 when the Sweden Democrats severed all ties with their youth wing, establishing a new organization called Young Swedes. This left Kasselstrand and Hahne to form AFS, which officially launched in March 2018, drawing inspiration from far-right parties in Germany, Austria, and France.

The party's platform is defined by hard Euroscepticism and 'return migration.' Unlike the Sweden Democrats, AFS seeks a total withdrawal from the European Union and advocates for a new 'Return Agency' to re-evaluate every residence permit granted since 2000. They propose forced remigration of immigrants to their countries of origin, with leader Gustav Kasselstrand estimating that compulsory measures could drive at least one million people out of Sweden. Their social agenda is equally distinct, opposing same-sex marriage—which they label a 'modern construction' against tradition—and seeking to ban the construction of mosques.

Despite significant social media presence and high engagement, AFS has struggled to translate online momentum into parliamentary power. In the 2018 general election, they received only 0.31% of the vote, far short of the 4.0% threshold needed for representation. While they secured three seats in the Church of Sweden council in 2020, a new 2% threshold caused them to lose those seats in 2025 despite a higher vote share. The party's trajectory remains marked by controversy, including allegations of using bots to inflate popularity on Facebook and a deputy chairman's resignation following a scandal involving high-priced surgical masks during the pandemic.

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