Sweden Democrats Spark Fury as Citizenship Crackdown Passes by One Vote

A single vote has thrown Swedish politics into uproar. What looks like a narrow parliamentary result is really part of a much bigger shift: Sweden’s move toward tougher rules on crime, immigration and citizenship after years of pressure over gangs, violence and integration. Michael Heaver looks at the dramatic vote that passed stricter citizenship requirements by just 147 to 146. He explains why the result has triggered fury on the left, with two Sweden Democrats MPs voting despite reportedly being registered as absent under Sweden’s pairing system. The controversy comes as Sweden’s right-wing government pushes harder on crime, lowers the age of criminal responsibility to 13, and opens the door to the Sweden Democrats potentially entering government after the next election. Was this a democratic breakthrough on citizenship, or a controversial breach of parliamentary norms?