(Governmental responsibility + crisis) > ideology? Social Democratic party politics in reaction to the 'migration crisis' in Germany and Sweden

The question who has – and who deserves – full or partial access to a state’s welfare system has become an issue of controversial political debate in many countries across Europe, not least in the context of the so-called ‘migration (administration) crisis’ of 2015-17. It has also become a particular challenge for some Social Democratic parties which, holding governmental responsibility, face(d) the tension between staying true to traditional party lines of openness and inclusiveness vis-à-vis refugees on the one hand, and (perceived) pressure to bow to public demands for restricted welfare access for asylum seekers on the other, so as to prevent a feared overburdening of the welfare system and reduce the potential of particularly favourable incorporation conditions as ‘pull factor’. This paper studies this tension and its consequences for party politics in the cases of the German and Swedish Social Democratic parties. Both have been coalition partners in the respective national governments throughout the ‘migration crisis’ – in which both countries underwent similar processes of initial demonstrative openness to incoming refugees, presenting themselves as ‘moral superpowers’ in comparison to other European countries, followed by a political turnaround and the introduction of significant restrictions under the impression of growing anxiety vis-à-vis those seeking shelter in Europe. Both the German and the Swedish Social Democratic parties helped (and partly even initiated) the adoption of similar legislation limiting refugees’ access to the respective welfare systems – despite explicit demands for more inclusive incorporation and welfare policies in their respective party programmes. Based on an in-depth analysis of parliamentary documents, such as minutes of plenary debates, parliamentary questions and vote declarations, this paper traces the internal struggle of the two Social Democratic parties in finding an adequate answer to the tension outlined above. It thereby helps explain why both parties abandoned traditional Social Democratic policy lines, and discusses the mid- to long-term impact of such short-term crisis responses on Social Democratic party politics in the two countries.