Democracy in danger - how to stop new parties in Sweden

What happens to democracy in Sweden when only certain voices are heard?

We often talk about freedom of expression and democratic values. But what happens when, in practice, these values only apply to those already in power?

When a new political party tries to make its voice heard - nothing usually happens.

No press turns up at launches, no headlines, no opinion pieces, no reporting.

And when they try to get articles in one of Sweden's major newspapers written by one of the many experts who have joined the party - they are met with the short answer:

“We have chosen not to report on the party” So what's left?

Face-to-face meetings, social media and alternative media? However, even these channels are often struggling and risk being shut down on some platforms.

This may sound innocent when you read the Regulation on political advertising:

”On 10 October 2025, a new EU regulation on transparency and targeted political advertising will start to apply. The aim of the regulation is to increase the transparency of political advertising in the EU, thereby strengthening democratic dialogue and countering disinformation, especially in the run-up to elections. ”

Knowing how the word disinformation is applied today, it does not take much imagination to realise that disinformation is defined as any perception that goes against the prevailing agendas, i.e. the narrative.

As of October this year, following pressure from the EU and supported by the new Digital Services Act, political advertising is banned on several major platforms.

SVT reports on 25 July:

Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, ends political advertising in the EU.

New rules make it too complicated and unsafe, claims the US tech giant.

Adverts with political content, as well as election advertising and what are described as social issues will not be allowed within the Union from October, Meta announces.

”This is a difficult decision - one we made in response to the EU's upcoming regulatory framework,” writes the tech giant, referring to a transparency regulation on political advertising called the TTPA.

According to Meta, the regulatory framework adds an unreasonable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for advertisers and platforms operating in the EU.

Incidentally, the public service closed the door a long time ago.

There are, of course, exceptions - for example, the choice to allow the Muslim party Nyans to emerge, which has attracted some attention.

Jamal El-Haj's plans to start a new party have also been reported in the established media - in Sydsvenskan, on Omni, in Bulletin, and briefly on SVT. Jamal El-Haj is sitting in the room next to me on floor 9 of the Riksdag. He left the Social Democrats and, like me, is a so-called non-party member of the Riksdag.

It is regrettable that new smaller parties are being excluded from the media - not least because the established parties are largely united on the big, heavy issues: such as NATO, Ukraine, the new WHO directive, the climate agenda or the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 vaccines that no party is following up on.

Why is there no reporting when there are peer-reviewed studies based on recent data showing, for example, that the chance of getting pregnant is 30 % lower for a woman who has taken the COVID-19 vaccine than for a woman who has not? Why is there no investigation into why the birth rate is down so much? Already in 2023, 12.9 % fewer children were born in Sweden according to Statistics Sweden.

The four per cent threshold makes it difficult for a new party to enter parliament.

But when the media refuses to take adverts, refuses to publish opinion pieces - and TV closes the door - how can a new party reach out?

The established parties are of course helped with the distribution of ballot papers to the 6000 polling stations. A new party does not get this help but has to create a large organisation to get the ballot papers out - a rather hopeless project because the ballot papers also have to be distributed early in the morning before the polling station opens. It is not a question of money but of organisation.

It seems that our entire electoral system is designed to cater for the survival of the established parties and make it impossible to bring in a new political force with a different orientation.

Today, many people rely on alternative media, but we are increasingly seeing YouTube channels being shut down, bank accounts being frozen or financial accounts being blocked.

The government has even commissioned an investigation by the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) - which identifies alternative media as a threat to liberal democracy. Whatever the hell that is. Either it is democracy or it is not democracy. Surely liberal democracy is more about limiting democracy? Anything that does not please the powers that be is a THREAT to liberal democracy.

Believe it or not, there are more ways to silence democracy. Organisations like EXPO dig up anything that might cast suspicion on people who do not support the agenda; those who have not stepped into the ”consensus hole”.

If nothing is found - then attacking a relative will have to suffice. But is it really democracy - if only certain voices are allowed? Isn't it starting to look more and more like something we associate with old Eastern Europe - where power controlled both debate and the media?.

A one-party state where the opposition can only exist - if it agrees. So what do we want Sweden to be? A vibrant democracy - where all voices are heard? Or a so-called liberal democracy - a system where only certain people have access to the media, to meeting rooms, to the debate pages of newspapers, to advertising space and social media.

This is not fundamentally about whether you agree with a particular view or not - whether you sympathise with a party outside Parliament. The issue is much bigger than that. It is about whether you believe that different opinions should even be allowed to exist.

Democracy does not disappear overnight. It is being dismantled - piece by piece - in silence.

Please support our party - Ambition Sweden. We have built a good machine to get a proper people's movement going and we will stand in the parliamentary elections in 2026. It is of course an uphill battle but if enough people get on board, we have a chance to make a real difference. We cannot afford not to try. There is too much at stake now.