Podcast: As Sweden Votes, How Is Populism Transforming Scandinavia?

Sweden goes to the polls on Sunday in an election which, like many others across Europe in the last two years, is likely to deliver unprecedented support to the far-right Sweden Democrats and witness a historic low for the center-left Social Democrats. For Sweden, a country with a strong tradition of social democracy, this election is likely to be proof that it is finally subject to international political headwinds.

In this episode of Slate's "The Good Fight" podcast, scholar and populism expert Yascha Mounk talks to the editor of Dagens Nyheder, Sweden's biggest newspaper. They discuss how Sweden, once seen as the model for social democracy across the continent, is slowly moving away from the political leadership that so defined it for decades. 

They discuss the essential contradiction in the rise in support for far-right parties here. By all objective indicators, Sweden is doing quite well: unemployment is at an all-time low, the national debt has shrunk and life is overall quite good here. However, voters increasingly see the country and their influence in it as on the decline; as a result, many previously reliable Social Democrat voters are turning to the Sweden Democrats and their message of a Sweden gone wrong.

For those who are interested in elections, populism or Scandinavia, this podcast is a great way to get up to speed ahead of Election Day on Sunday — and to get some context on what is happening across the region.