Before we move on with crayfish parties, eating manners, surströmming (awfully smelling fermented fish in a tin can) and other non-political stuff, let’s just quickly focus on what’s happening in post-election Sweden at the moment.

As we all know by now, the right wing Sweden Democrats secured 5.7 percent of the vote and 20 seats in the parliment. Apart from causing a very complicated political situation, this has created a massive stir amongst the Swedes. Yesterday, a crowd of around 6,000 people gathered in central Stockholm to demonstrate against racism. With bannners stating  “Yes to togetherness, No to racism” and “No racists in parliament,” the crowd showed their disapproval to the election results and similar demonstrations  were held in Gothenburg and Malmö as well. All the gatherings were spontaneously organised by people via Facebook and Twitter, amongst them  a 17-year-old girl from a Stockholm suburb, Felicia Margineanu, who got the 6000 people in Stockholm together through a protest call on her Facebook page.

Demonstrations, flashmobs, Facebook groups and protests are  happening and are being formed all over Sweden right now and Aftonbladet, Sweden’s biggest tabloid magazine Aftonbladet, has started a massive campaign. It called “Vi gillar olika” (We like different) and 270 000 Swedes has joined so far. If you want to join, click here.

There’s much that can be said about the voting result, the Sweden Democrats and the political sitiuation in Sweden at the moment, but like Marcus, nor I’m no political scientist or expert. I prefer to focus on everyone up there who is taking the fight, creating a stir and who are raising their unhappy voices. No matter what is causing it, I think it’s fantastic to see people come togheter and join forces like this. That, if anything, makes me proud to be Swede.