| Native Name: | Skånepartiet |
| Chairman: | Carl P. Herslow |
| Foundation: | 24 March 1979 |
| Ideology: | Scanian nationalism Right-wing populism Anti-communism Economic liberalism Separatism Christian nationalism Anti-Islam Swedish republicanism |
| Position: | Far-right |
| Colours: | Blue, white, yellow, red |
| Headquarters: | Lieholmsvägen 303-22, Trelleborg |
| Website: | www.skanepartiet.org |
| Country: | Sweden |
Skånepartiet ("the Scania party") is a separatist, right-wing populist, republican, anti-immigration political party in the Swedish province of Scania, established in 1979. The founder and leader of the party was Carl P. Herslow.
The original aims of the party were the abolition of the Swedish state's monopoly of the radio and television market, and self-government for Skåne. Originally it advocated full independence for Skåne as a republic, but later altered this to instead back devolution within the Swedish state. Recently however the party has again restated a desire for full sovereignty. It started criticizing Swedish immigration policy in the mid-1980s, and since the 2000s has focused heavily on an aggressive campaign against Islam. Its support has shrunk over recent years and it was until its dissolution not represented in any council, losing its last local seats in the 2006 election.
The party was founded on 24 March 1979 in Lund. Based on the Scania Movement ("Skånerörelsen") founded in 1977, its initial main issues was to achieve regional autonomy for Scania, particularly regarding the mass media, alcohol, energy, tourism and education policy. It ran in the 1979 election on three main issues; a Scanian provincial government, an independent advertising-funded Scanian TV channel with broadcasting associations, and the free sale of beer, wine, and liquor in Scania. The election was however ultimately a failure for the party. It started local radio broadcasts in 1982. Although the party had put in much work for the 1982 election, it again failed to win any representation.
By 1984 the party reportedly had more than 4,000 members and had expanded its radio broadcasts. It had also become more radical, now demanding that Scania become an independent republic. The party also started to criticize the economic, social and cultural consequences of Swedish immigration policy. In the 1985 election the party finally broke through, and helped to remove the Social Democratic Party from power in Malmö for the first time in 66 years, winning five mandates. It also gained representation in a few other municipalities. In the 1988 election the party was reduced to three mandates in Malmö and lost its representation in all other municipalities except one. The party held municipal seats only in Malmö through the 1990s. In the late 2000s the party has failed to win any representation, and has been marginalized by the advancing Sweden Democrats in competition for votes.[1] On June 30, 2020, in what was to be announced by Herslow as the final radio transmissions, it was revealed that both the party and the radio transmissions would be dissolved due to the lack of staff. However, on July 2 both the party and the radio transmissions was resumed.
The party states on its website that its policy is based on the two main demands of "more restrictive immigration and refugee policies, and the elimination of Islam."[2] It further promotes 12 key policies;[3]
5 seats in Malmö, 2 in Burlöv, 2 in Svedala, 1 in Staffanstorp and 1 in Vellinge.[2]
3 seats in Malmö and 1 in Staffanstorp.[2]
2 seats in Malmö.[2]
3 seats in Malmö.[4]
2 seats in Malmö.[5]
2 seats in Malmö.[6]
0 seats.[7]
0 seats.[8]
0 seats (0.33% share of the votes for the Skåne County Council and 0.6% share of the votes in municipal elections) [9] [10]
0 seats[11]
0 seats[12]