Irish Examiner view: A worrying political trend

Swedish and Italian elections

The leader of the Sweden Democrats Jimmie Åkesson delivers a speech at the party's election watch at Elite Hotel Marina Tower Tower in Nacka, near Stockholm, Sweden.

Although the final result of the Swedish general election on Sunday will not be determined until later this week, when votes from expatriates are tallied, the country’s far-right Sweden Democrat party appears to have made substantial gains in another worrying lurch towards extremist idealism in mainstream European politics.

With Italy heading to the polls in less than two weeks’ time and Georgia Meloni’s “post-fascist” Brothers of Italy party expected to dominate a conservative coalition, the result in Sweden which is predicting a 20% share of the vote for the Sweden Democrat party marks a seismic shift for a nation known for its liberalist political traditions.