As Lenta.ru writes, for decades the 'newcomers' were organically integrated into Swedish society, filling the shortage of labor without destroying the country's cultural integrity. But the current 'new great migration of peoples' is forcing the kingdom's subjects and its authorities to think about how many more migrants the country is ready to accept.
Democrats Being Democrats
In September, the national broadcaster 'Radio Sweden' reported that the radical party 'Swedish Democrats', demanding a 90 percent reduction in the number of refugees accepted, is supported by more than 20 percent of the population. In just one month, this figure rose by 1.5 percent. In August, in connection with riots carried out by migrants, the 'Swedish Democrats' placed posters in the Stockholm metro with the text: 'Our government is not doing what needs to be done. But we will, and we are growing at a record pace.' This led to conflicts with the left, who accused the party of xenophobia.
But the 'Swedish Democrats' cannot be scared off by scandals. Party activist Gunilla Schmidt recently proposed the most radical way to solve the problem of refugees reaching Sweden via Denmark. 'Only a machine gun placed on the Øresund Bridge will help!' she wrote on Facebook. Later, Schmidt had to apologize in the media, explaining her outburst as 'temporary insanity'. The post was, of course, deleted.
The current minority government, formed by the Social Democrats and the Greens, continues its open-door policy. The main political parties and media adhere to an unwritten rule according to which discussing problems arising from the migration issue is considered bad form, or even a manifestation of racism and xenophobia.
Only in August of this year, about 11,700 refugees were registered in Sweden. However, it seems that even such a generous country is running out of patience. Migration Minister Morgan Johansson stated that this cannot go on forever. 'It cannot be that half of all refugees stop in Germany and Sweden. All countries must take responsibility,' he explained on BBC Radio.
Karlsson, Pippi, Abdullah and Mahmud
A country with a population of ten million, accepting about 100,000 migrants annually, will sooner or later inevitably face problems. The multiculturalism policy of recent years, proclaiming all of Sweden as 'one home', is encountering difficulties; public sentiment is changing, and calls to change migration rules are being heard more and more often.
Conflicts on racial and ethnic grounds are multiplying. The problem of the Roma stands apart. Unlike refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, they are EU citizens and can move freely within the Schengen zone. Arriving in Sweden, migrants from Romania, Bulgaria and other Eastern European countries do not claim state assistance. They beg on the streets, try to find work on the black market. The average salary in Sweden is 2,800 euros. In Romania, where most European Roma come from, the salary is about four times lower. The appearance of thousands of Roma vagrants begging near IKEA stores, metro stations and supermarkets shocks Swedes. Cases of attacks on migrants and arson of their tents have been reported.
Among refugees from Africa and the Middle East, ethnic crime is developing. In August, two individuals from Eritrea attacked visitors of an IKEA store in the city of Västerås (about 100 kilometers from Stockholm), inflicting knife wounds on a 55-year-old Swedish woman and her 28-year-old son. In response, the far-right became active. Thus, in the city of Arboga, two containers with flammable liquid were found near a building provided to refugees, and in Värnamo, unknown persons attempted to set fire to a shelter for unaccompanied refugee children. The police sharply increased security measures in migrant accommodation centers.
The cruel irony is that IKEA itself, through its Charitable Foundation, supports the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The main goal of this foundation is to improve the lives of refugee children. Thus, the company, striving to ensure a prosperous future and comfortable life for migrants, in reality faces the unwillingness of newcomers to socialize into the host society.
The Very Beginning
So why Sweden, why not neighboring Finland or Norway? Sweden today is Saab and Volvo, telecommunications Ericsson and Telia, retail IKEA and Heins&Morris, 'home' Electrolux. No other Scandinavian country has created anything comparable in scale (except perhaps Finnish Nokia).
And it all began after World War II. Neutral Sweden was not subjected to destruction and retained its industrial potential, the economy developed rapidly. The country needed labor, so immigration legislation was maximally relaxed.
In 1952, the Scandinavian countries signed a trade agreement on a common labor market and open borders. This allowed the creation of a broad tax base, which served as the foundation for the smooth functioning of the public sector. The Swedish government, in need of labor, issued work visas – then mainly to citizens of Southern European countries. In the 1970s, the flow of migrants from Latin America and the Middle East increased.
The situation changed in 1992. Due to the war in Yugoslavia, almost 700,000 people applied to Western European countries for asylum. Sweden accepted about 80,000 people, but tightened its immigration policy due to unemployment and inflation, limiting opportunities for obtaining residence permits and entry into the country.
Currently, there are several ways to immigrate to Sweden. The most common is obtaining refugee status. To do this, it is necessary to confirm the infringement of religious, social, political, or other rights, as well as a threat to life in one's home country. In addition, one can enter into a legal marriage with a Swedish citizen, present an invitation to work or study at a university. There is also business migration – to settle in the country, it is enough to establish a joint-stock company with an authorized capital of at least 11,000 euros. But only an EU citizen can be a business manager.
Socialism. For how long?
Maintaining the status of a social state, Sweden accepts more migrants per capita than any other European country. Foreigners coming to Sweden have always been attracted by high salaries, social benefits, insurance, and the opportunity to rent apartments at low prices from the state. But every year the burden on the social security system increases.
The prosperity of Swedish society is ensured by high income taxes. However, if in 2000 immigrants who had long lived in the country earned as much as native Swedes, today newcomers cannot count on high-paying jobs. It is difficult for them to integrate into the labor market, especially during the economic crisis, which, although not as pronounced as in Greece, still affects Sweden.
For the normal functioning of a social state, at least 80 percent of the adult working-age population must be employed. For the native population, this rule is observed (84 percent), but among migrants, employment does not even reach 50 percent. It is in Sweden that the largest gap in Europe between locals and 'incomers' is observed on this indicator.
42 percent of the long-term unemployed are migrants; 45 percent of children with low exam grades are children of migrants; most criminals convicted of serious crimes are migrants. It cannot be said that Sweden is not trying to integrate foreigners, but the labor market here requires very high qualifications. And where can refugees from Africa and the Middle East get that?
The government has increased funding for integration programs for newcomers. They have been granted the right to retraining at the state's expense. However, over the past year, only 30 percent of refugees who completed the integration program were able to find work or continue their education. Overall, Sweden spends about four billion dollars a year on newcomers. Until recently, this amount did not exceed one billion. For a country whose economy is in stagnation, such expenses may become unsustainable in the near future.
Teenagers arriving without parental accompaniment are automatically granted asylum in Sweden. Stockholm believes that if migrant children are properly socialized, they will become upstanding citizens in the future. But in practice, it does not work out quite that way. The country is filled with ghettos where social tension grows day by day.
Turning point
In the short term, the Swedish government can do little. EU rules guaranteeing free movement within the union do not allow simply turning refugees back at the border. Even if European neighbors agree to take in more migrants, the flow to Sweden is unlikely to decrease.
Migrants of other nationalities and religions do not wish to turn into Swedes. They do not intend to abandon their traditions and want to live in their own way. To somehow solve this problem, Sweden needs to reconsider its migration policy, even if the subjects of the crown think that the proposed changes are too harsh and inhumane. An attempt to maintain neutrality on this issue threatens to turn into a collapse for the country.