We can define a real political earthquake what these last Swedish political elections deliver, with the extreme right of the Swedish Democrats of Jimmie Akesson registering a historic result and that.

for the first time, it is one step away from governing with moderate right-wing allies. 

First party of the right-wing breakfast, with a 20.7% preference, ahead of the conservative party led by Ulf Kristersson, at 19%, Akesson is the moral winner of the vote.

The figure of him, very mediatic, emerged strongly during the election campaign in which he overshadowed his ally, Kristersson, 55, a veteran of Swedish politics in his second attempt to conquer the post of prime minister.    

The real victory of Akesson, for 17 years at the helm of the Swedish Democrats (SD Sverige Demokraterna), however, is to have made his party pass from pariah of the national political landscape to an indispensable heavyweight to the right to be able to govern.

He did so by managing to normalize the political line of a party that is still the heir of a neo-Nazi group, the organization "Bevara Sverige Svensk" (let's keep Swedish Sweden), moving it towards a 'soft' nationalism with the logo of a flower. 

Under the direction of this thriller, pizza and french fries lover, SD has made a change of identity, both in form and content.

In 2006 the party adopted a new logo, a peaceful blue anemone with a yellow heart, the two national colors of Sweden, in place of a very aggressive torch.

At the same time, the party tried to break away from intolerant and violent groups and showed a "zero tolerance" policy against racism. 

Just a coat of paint according to his detractors: in August, a poll by the Swedish research firm Acta Publica concluded that among the 289 Swedish politicians who have 'distinguished' themselves in racist or Nazi behavior or activity, the vast majority ( 214) belonged to the Swedish Democrats.

The controversy over the party's many bad apples over the years has continued tirelessly, but the climb has nevertheless been rapid: 5.7% and first deputies in Parliament in 2010, 12.9% and a third place in 2014, and then the 17.5% in the last elections of 2018.

High Swedish immigration has fueled this movement so far, in a country that welcomed nearly 250,000 asylum seekers between 2014 and 2015, more than any other European country compared to its population of around 10 million.

In early September, SD released a Trumpian video titled "Sweden Must Great Again", an idealized ode to the Swedish people, evoking a Viking past and mythological elves. 

Nicknamed Yimmie, the 43-year-old, solidly built and well-groomed beard, separated with a son, doesn't particularly like the tie and cultivates a 'normal' Swedish image.

He managed to capture attention during the entire election campaign, during which he toured the country, appealing to a predominantly male and often rural electorate.

Akesson has monopolized the debate on social networks, dictating the agenda of controversies on the issues of immigration, security and purchasing power, with inflation in Sweden reaching 8% and an electricity bill that is exploding in some regions.

"I think (our success) can be explained by the fact that people don't find other parties to take their situation seriously," he told AFP at an election meeting held in Stockholm in August.

The Swedish Democrats have not only snatched voters from the Conservatives, but also from the Social Democrats, especially among the working class.

Hand in hand with growing acclaim, SD has changed rhetoric, cutting controversial phrases such as the time Akesson called Muslims "the greatest foreign threat since World War II".

Already in favor of a "Swexit", the party renounced the idea of ​​leaving the European Union in 2019, noting the lack of public support for this scenario.   

"He wants to give the image of an ordinary person who roasts sausages, travels to the Canary Islands on a charter flight and talks ordinary as well as living in an affordable housing estate in a small town," commented Jonas Hinnfors, professor of Political Science of the University of Goteborg.

Now the most difficult task: to translate the anger of deep Sweden that 'Ymmie' managed to intercept into concrete policies.