A Moral Triumph

Victories are never built on shoddy beliefs; the illusion of one simply precedes a coming fall. Truthfully, there are few other ways in which to discuss the results of Sweden's dynamic national election only a day in the past, in which Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt lost much of his seemingly enduring "grand coalition" to the right-wing Swedish Democrats Party. Not only should this election be looked at as a referendum on the decay of the European Union to centralized government and radicalized religion, but it also represents a profound dispersion of the once consolidated influence of the probuconservatives, a group of economic liberals and otherwise moderate politicians who have risen to prominence in recent European political history.

Reinfeldt's personal career is a prime example of the growing shift towards liberal conservatism in the Old World nations. After spending some time as an ardent supporter of Swedish Prime Minister Carld Bildt in the 1990s, the young and ambitious activist began challenging his superior's views as too extreme and incompatible, campaigning against the man whom he had helped to enthrone and assisting in the dramatic victory for the leftist Social Democrats in the 1994 general election campaign.  

With Bildt and the conservatives humiliated, Reinfeldt amassed his party of support, working to construct a moderate platform under which to unite for his election to the opposition in 2002, and the premiership in 2006. Since his victory, the prime minister has gained ample praise for his fragilely strung together Alliance for Sweden, which was meant to coast to an easy victory in the 2010 election. With his success, Reinfeldt even managed to shift David Cameron from a strong conservative to a flamboyant liberal in time for an expected landslide victory for the United Kingdom Conservative Party in the May 2010 decision moment. 

And yet, something has held both Cameron, who now governs with the Liberal Democrats, and Reinfeldt, who enjoys centrist and left-wing support in his coalition, back. The short of it is simply morality. Both men have arguably captured impressive victories politically, but their seemingly unfaltering strides in that arena still cannot endear them enough within their separate electorates to form a lasting dominance over the nation. 

Notwithstanding their efforts, probuconservatives feel that by simply cutting taxes or agencies domestically, they can command the everlasting partnership of the voters. Though economic policy is important, it is a useless goal if the party does not provide contrast to the failings of the countless left-wing governments around the globe. Conservatives may not inhabit government as frequently, yet they are called in to reform and rebuild the positive ways of the nation's elder days through good intended social proposals and economic openness to help businesses grow. 

If the probuconservatives feel their moderate path is still righteous after their ideology's defeat in the Netherlands, Britain, and now Sweden, then they are missing the reality which faces them unabashedly. Voters want strong conservative leadership in times of crisis; they will throw out those who are simply seeking to achieve goals politically. And although moderate leaders may win races, their reliance on centrist rehtoric can only lead to eventual defeat, as they hand the reins to a more strident partisan months before the next election. These politicians desire self-fulfillment at the expense of the people they claim to represent. In their quests to forge dynasties, they have left the interests of the people behind, choosing to serve only themselves. 

Michael Veramendi

Vice President for Foreign Issues