Åkesson: No problem if white Swedes become a minority

Ethnic Swedes are the ethnic group that has built and shaped Sweden. But when Jimmie Åkesson is asked whether this particular group could become a minority in its own country, the SD leader draws no ethnic line—for him, it is culture, identity, and values that must endure.

In Riks' interview Voters Grill the Politician – Jimmie Åkesson, published on Monday, SD leader Jimmie Åkesson is given the opportunity to elaborate on his views on what it means to be Swedish. The questions are posed by a group of immigrants who draw on their own backgrounds as a starting point. He talks about assimilation: Immigrants should learn the language, support themselves, and embrace Swedish traditions and social norms.

Then comes the question that cuts straight to the heart of what nationalism is ultimately about. Åkesson is asked to respond to the view that Swedes must not become a minority in Sweden—and the questioner explicitly clarifies that this refers to ethnic Swedes.

– Yes, but I don't agree, Or put it this way: I agree that Swedes shouldn't become a minority in Sweden. But that doesn't necessarily have an ethnic aspect to it; rather, it's specifically about identity, uh, values, and norms.

The concept of "the people" is replaced by a concept of identity

The difference is fundamental. While Åkesson does say that ”Swedes” should not become a minority, when the issue concerns the ethnically Swedish population, he shifts the definition from ancestry to identity, norms, and culture.

According to Åkesson, a person with a foreign background can become Swedish through assimilation. First-generation immigrants may find it difficult to achieve that, he says, but they can instead raise their children to become Swedish.

This paves the way for a Sweden where ethnic Swedes are a minority, while Åkesson can still claim that ”Swedes” are the majority. The decisive factor will not be which group makes up the population, but rather what identity the new population adopts.

Getting the chance to draw the line

The interviewer isn't satisfied. Åkesson is presented with a concrete scenario in which Swedish traditions, values, and culture still dominate—but in which the population no longer consists of white ethnic Swedes.

Here, Åkesson could have said that the continued existence of ethnic Swedes as the majority population is also important. His response, however, goes in the opposite direction.

– So, my political goal is, of course, a society that’s as free of conflict as possible, and I don’t think skin color or things like that play a major role in that—or, actually, they don’t play any role at all.

Änglasjö Fights Back

Freedom News Tor-Björn Richthoff Änglasjö reacts strongly in a post on X. He points to precisely the consequence that becomes apparent when Åkesson’s cultural definition is contrasted with the question of the ethnically Swedish population.

”Jimmie Åkesson does NOT think it’s a problem if white Swedes become a minority in Sweden.”, he writes.

The X-Profile Mr. Husis He draws the same conclusion and states that he therefore does not intend to vote for the Sweden Democrats. He writes that a party that cannot affirm that ethnic Swedes deserve to remain the majority does not deserve his vote either.

A line Åkesson Won't Cross

Åkesson likes to talk about keeping Sweden Swedish through assimilation, culture, and shared values. But when he is explicitly given the opportunity to say that ethnic Swedes should remain the majority in Sweden, he does not do so.

This sends voters a much more fundamental message than yet another political maneuver on immigration. According to Åkesson, culture must be preserved—but there is no corresponding demand that the people who created it and have been instrumental in shaping it remain in the majority.