NBC: Soon-To-Be Biggest Party In Sweden Is 'Far-Right,' Has 'Roots In Neo-Nazism And White Nationalism'

SOLVESBORG, Sweden — Around 4,000 far-right supporters gathered on the grounds of a ruined castle last weekend to plot the downfall of the socialist ideas that have come to define their progressive country.

Their views — anti-immigration, anti-establishment and often anti-Muslim — are not new amid the populist tsunami that's crashed into much of the West.

But this is Sweden, where socialists have dominated every election for the past 101 years, making the Nordic nation something of a lodestar for leftists around the world.

Some polls predict that the supporters' favored party, the Sweden Democrats, with roots in neo-Nazism and white nationalism, will win as much as 25 percent of the vote in an election scheduled for Sept. 9. Such a result would likely earn the Sweden Democrats more seats in Parliament than any other single party.

At the party's annual summer festival here, speeches were interspersed with heavy metal music as supporters gathered at Solvesborg Castle for the headline act: an address by Jimmie Akesson, the 39-year-old leader of the Sweden Democrats.

"He's the only politician I can trust," a retiree named Jan shouted above the din. "We need him for our country. I don't have so many years left, but for my children and for my grandchildren."

In 2010, a TV channel refused to air a Sweden Democrats advertisement featuring an elderly white woman trying to claim her welfare payments, before being overtaken by a group of women wearing niqab headscarves and pushing strollers.

"Why should we change into a Middle Eastern country?" Richard Jomshof, a Sweden Democrat lawmaker, said while rock music blared from the tent behind him. "Why should we care about Islam? Sweden is not an Islamic country. Why should we be influenced by one of the worst ideologies in the world? I don't understand it."

The party claims that gangs of young immigrant men are responsible for spikes in violent crime and sexual assault, turning multicultural neighborhoods into so-called no-go zones. This characterization is disputed as a crass oversimplification by police and political opponents.

BREAKING: Serious situation in Sweden. Youths torched around 14 cars near a shopping centre in Gothenburg pic.twitter.com/Ia9vbMnNV0

— Voice of Europe 🌐 (@V_of_Europe) August 13, 2018

President Donald Trump promoted this theme last year at a Florida rally, saying: "Who would believe this? Sweden! They took in large numbers, they're having problems like they never thought possible."

The Sweden Democrats promoted their vision of national culture by hosting traditional activities including lessons in schottis, a 19th-century dance.

"It's taken us perhaps 1,000 years to become what we are today," Jomshof said.

This viewpoint has been criticized by Swedish anthropologists, who say culture is never a constant and has always evolved throughout history.