IMMIGRATION ISSUE IN SWEDEN IS OVER - NATIONALIST REACTION COMES
STOCKHOLM, Sept 8, 1998 (Reuters) - Sweden's immigrant population, facing a widening economic gulf with native-born Swedes and increasing discrimination, is putting jobs as its top priority for this month's national election.
Jobs are also top of the agenda for many of the country's 8.9 million people with unemployment running at about eight percent in Sweden.
But among the one in every eight people living in Sweden who are immigrants or have at least one immigrant parent the jobless rate soars to 25 percent.
This has caused some friction and racism in Sweden, whose open-door immigration policy of the 1960s has changed the face of the Scandinavian nation in the past 30 years.
``The fewer jobs there are, the more hate there is. It's getting more difficult all the time,'' said Hales Yildiz, 25, who was born in Turkey.
``I have been in Sweden almost 24 years. It doesn't matter that I went to school -- I end up working in a restaurant anyway. It's very difficult to get ahead.''
This has made job creation, fighting discrimination and secure unemployment benefits the key issues for immigrants ahead of the September 20 poll.
In the run-up to the vote, the topic of immigration has been virtually absent from debate. One reason for this is the drop in numbers allowed to emigrate to Sweden.
Previously, immigration was a hot election topic in Sweden, with a national vote bringing out extreme rightist groups who tout curbing immigration as part of their platform.
``This is the first time we are talking about people who are in Sweden,'' Jolin Boldt, editor-in-chief of The Immigrant Newspaper, told Reuters.
``At the time of the last election you still had the belief that if you lived in Sweden everything would be alright. Now people know it's not that easy.''
With the country's extensive welfare system becoming increasing costly to maintain and unemployment on the rise, Sweden has tightened its once generous immigration policy and cut the number allowed in.
In the last election in 1994, immigration was a major issue. One reason for this was the acceptance of 60,000 Bosnians just before Swedes went to the polls.
Immigration to Sweden peaked in 1994 at 78,987 people, of which about 80 percent came from non-Nordic countries. That year 33,587 permits were awarded on humanitarian grounds.
That number fell back to 33,443 in 1997 with only 6,367 permits issued for humanitarian reasons.
A consequence of the high number of arrivals in 1994 was the rise in support for a far right party called New Democracy, which managed to win 1.2 percent of the vote, although it was still well below the four percent threshold needed to enter the 394-seat parliament.
At least one far right group has emerged in this year's election but does not appear likely to muster serious support.
The party, the Sweden Democrats, receives financial support from France's extreme right-wing National Front led by Jean-Marie Le Pen. The Sweden Democrats stood for the first time in the last general election but won only 12,651 votes from the nation's 6.5 million voters.
``The biggest issue for everyone in Sweden just now is getting work. I think segregation is the most important topic but what people talk about is getting work,'' editor Boldt said.
The Swedish government in recent years has reshuffled the duties of several junior ministers, giving refugees to one office and appointing a new minister dealing just with integration.
Some political analysts say this showed a long-needed new focus by the government on people inside its borders.
``We have had a change over the past few years with integration at the forefront and treating everyone as individuals,'' said Terry Carlbom, a political scientist at Uppsala University.
However, he said immigrant issues should play a more important role.
``Many individual immigrants are not getting the chances they deserve because of their names and faces. That should be more at the forefront for all parties,'' Carlbom said.
Sweden's ruling Social Democrats (SDP) say no part of their manifesto is directly aimed at immigrants although the party's minority government secures most of the immigrant vote.
``We foreigners always vote Social Democrat -- they have always been on our side,'' said Yildiz.
If victorious, the SPD says its will help immigrants in Sweden by passing a non-discrimination law which could take effect on January 1 next year.
The party, which has ruled Sweden for all but nine years since World War Two, will develop programmes under which the state will become an employer reflecting the ethnic diversity of Swedish society, stopping short of quotas.
The whole idea of integration was to raise consciousness, not just among immigrants but among native-born Swedes.
``The whole of society has to consider that we are a new society,'' said Rafik Sener, spokesman for the integration minister.
``We are not in favour of dividing society into two groups -- one Swedes and one immigrants.''
The conservative Moderates, who were in power in a coalition government in Sweden from 1991 to 1994, said they would like to see people less dependent on welfare benefits.
The Moderates share a platform on cutting unemployment with two other parties, the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats, and hope to create jobs through tax cuts.
``Deregulation and lower taxes -- that's good for everyone, immigrant or not,'' said Jacob Broberg, party spokesman.
The Social Democrats will probably remain the favoured party among immigrants. Few seem to be convinced by the Moderate Party's vows to cut taxes and help small businesses.
``The Social Democrats are the ones who help immigrants
the most. They helped us when we came here,'' said Gabriel Chamouni,
22, who helps run an international newspaper stand with his father.
He arrived in Sweden from Lebanon 5-1/2 years ago.
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