Disappointed Christian Democrat voted for small Christian party in Sweden
Mats Selander, party leader of the Christian Values Party. Photo YouTube, TidningenDagen
Northern Europe
The Swedish Christian Values Party has been too small to be represented in the Parliament. Yet, the party is making an advance. During the last elections on September 11th, they gained 2,781 more votes than in the previous elections – then the number of votes remained at 3,200. In total, the party received 5,983 votes.
The Christian Value Party (Kristna Varde Partiet) is based on "values expressed in the Christian tradition of thought, for example, human dignity, the sanctity of marriage and the idea of stewardship". That is what the party writes on its website. Of all the voters, 0.09 per cent voted for the party, while that percentage was 0.06 per cent in the 2018 elections. That is reported by Dagen.
Despite the sharp increase in votes, party leader Mats Selander had hoped for 10,000 votes or more. "But you have to see it relatively; it is still a doubling of the number of votes. That is positive”, he said to Världen idag. “The goal is to grow slowly.”
“Ebba Busch effect”
Selander thinks the increase of the party is due to an "Ebba Busch effect". He believes that the party's growth mainly consists of voters disappointed in the Swedish Christian Democratic Party because of its even more prominent pro-choice stance. That is reported by Dagen. "It is because Busch was clear that the Christian Democrats do not stand for the human dignity of the unborn and biblical marriage. That means that we have received Christian votes of conscience", Selander says.
The Christian Democrats (KD) sunk from 6.4 per centto 5.4 per cent of the electorate. In 1990, they still had 11 per cent.
The Christian Values Party still propagates a national ban on abortion in Sweden. At the time of its establishment in 2014, this view caused some consternation.
Another reason for the party's success is that it intensified its campaign compared to 2018, according to Selander.
Earlier, the party said to Dagen that it aimed at reaching Swedes with a foreign background. Also, Christians who vote for the far-right Sweden Democrats belong to the interest group of the Christian Values Party, said party leader Mats Selander at the time.
Christian Democratic defeat
Of the Swedes who attend church every month, 21 per cent voted for the Christian Democrats in the last elections. Therefore, the party is still a prominent favourite among Swedish Christians, Dagen shows. However, churchgoers do not naturally vote for the Christian Democratic party anymore, as they did in former times. The Social Democrats and the Sweden Democrats also get some support from Christians.
Former Christian Democratic party leader Alf Svensson thinks his party must reconsider its future after its electoral defeat. "The party has to think through whether we invested in the right issues", he says to Dagen.
Svensson thinks there is a significant group of disillusioned Christian Democrats. What was missing in the party's campaign of this year, he believes, is faith in the future, heart and inclusion. Furthermore, he thinks the party should have focused more on security issues and family. Gang crime was an essential issue in this year's campaign. The Christian Democrats should have picked up on that, he says.
Division
Political scientists fear that a new Swedish government under the leadership of Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party, will not survive long. They point out that a single MP can bring the coalition down, Varlden idag reports.
Most likely, this MP will be one of the Liberal Party, political scientist Johan Hellström says to Svenska Dagbladet. Kristersson needs the support of the Liberals to form a government. Still, within the Liberal Party, there is much division on the views and policies of the Sweden Democrats, with which the new coalition is likely to cooperate.
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