Abstract
In 2002, elections were hold in both Sweden and France. When it comes to voting, many differences exist between the two countries (e.g.: proportional voting vs. majority). But even if those institutional differences remain important, in that very special year the most striking feature was undoubtedly the opposite fate of the extreme right. While in the French presidential elections the extreme right (mostly the national front) gathered 20% of the votes, the Swedish extreme right (Sweden Democrats + New Democracy) seduced only 1.5% of the voters! Obviously, it is not possible to deduce a general rule about the extreme right on the only basis of 2002, which has been (at least in France) a very peculiar year. However, it really seems that while the French extreme right can from times to times play a key role on the political scene, the Swedish is kept in silence by several factors. Why has the Swedish extreme right always been so weak while in France and in most of Europe far right ideals have been rising since the 1980's? What are the political and sociological features that have kept the Swedish far right so low? And is the current rise of Sweden Democrats in the opinion polls due to the weakening of those features?
