New Democracy (Sweden)

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Party symbol

Ny Demokrati, or New Democracy (abbreviated NyD), was a Swedish right-wing political party represented in the Riksdag between 1991 and 1994. Founded during the spring of 1991 by Ian Wachtmeister and Bert Karlsson, the party successfully campaigned for election to the national parliament the same fall on an agenda of economic reform and restricted immigration. Its economic policy, stressing the importance of entrepreneurship and red tape reduction, was generally perceived as right-of-center.

Critics, especially within the mainstream political establishment which felt threatened^{[citation needed]}, accused the party of populism and xenophobia, and missed few opportunities calling it racist^{[citation needed]}. The party's candidates in return frequently railed against "crocodile politicians" from the mainstream parties, who were said to resemble crocodiles in that they were "all mouth but no ears."

Even though founded only about a half-year prior to the election, New Democracy quickly gained support in political polls. Ian Wachtmeister and Bert Karlsson ran an unusual campaign, becoming known for speaking while standing on beer cases. During the summer of 1991, some opinion polls showed the party getting more than 10% support. On the election day, it received 6.7% of the national vote. During an infamous election-night live broadcast, Bengt Westerberg, leader of the Liberal People's Party, left the TV studio when Ian Wachtmeister joined the program, ostensibly in protest against New Democracy's immigration policy.

In the Riksdag the party frequently voted with the four-party center-right government led by Carl Bildt, which unenthusiastically accepted its support. By the 1994 election, the party had imploded and Ian Wachtmeister and Bert Karlsson both left. Without the two, the party failed to attract sufficient support for parliamentary representation, receiving only a fraction of the vote of the previous election (1.4%). Thereafter the organization became marked by internal power struggles over the control of party funds and quickly fell into disarray, at least at a national level.

Ahead of the 1998 elections a youth league, Ny Ungdom (New Youth), was founded. It never obtained any importance.

The party ceased to exist when it was declared bankrupt on February 25, 2000.

Although short-lived, Bert Karlsson stated later that he was quite happy with the achievements of the party, especially since the Social Democratic governments since 1994 has implemented most of the immigration policies New Democracy was proposing^{[citation needed]}.

Ian Wachtmeister went on to found a new party for the 1998 election called Det Nya Partiet, or The New Party (abbreviated (d)), featuring similar policies. Burned by the experience of New Democracy, Wachtmeister hand-picked the board, and the party did not have any conventions or accept any members. The party failed to attract enough votes for representation in the Riksdag and was dissolved.