A deeply disturbing thing

I am disturbed. Very disturbed. I sit at my desk and should start working. My mind drifts. I can't focus.

A deeply disturbing thing has happened in Sweden - something that threatens the foundation of society and turns the idea of Swedish tolerance and egalitarianism on it head.

On Election Níght last night it became clear that the Swedish Democrats, a national socialistic, racist party, have been elected into parliament. With just under 6% of the vote (360,000 votes), they have 20 seats.

But that's not the worst of it. These 20 seats give them the balance of power, since the current government were re-elected, but with a minority.

This is a shock to the other 94% of Swedes who didn't vote for them. People mention the right-wing gales that are whistling over Europe and that have now reached Sweden. They talk about the xenophobic disease which has infected Swedish politics.

The Prime Minister last night said he will never cooperate with the national socialists. Can we trust him to keep his word when his power is what's at stake?

There is talk of solving the problem through cooperation across the blocs in order to elbow out the Swedish Democrats and render them impotent. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Can the different parties put aside their prestige and return to their shared basic assumptions about life and people? That we are all equal. Can they work together to uphold democracy as the majority see it?

Today, Sweden became a colder place.

It's now up to our elected politicians to turn up the heat on the racists that have wormed their way into the Houses of Parliament.