Turkish immigrant chosen to run for Swedish parliament

By Ilker Girit

ISTANBUL

A Konya man who migrated nearly 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) from his home in central Turkey to the Swedish city of Gothenburg 16 years ago has risen from working as a dishwasher to running for a seat in the Swedish parliament.

Thirty-five-year-old Mikail Yuksel arrived in Sweden’s second-largest city in 2001 and began working in a kitchen, having emigrated from the agricultural district of Kulu in Konya after graduating high school.

Having worked as a taxi driver, a welder and in a pizza restaurant, Yuksel told Anadolu Agency he became aware that he should learn Swedish to become part of the local community.

Going back into education, he began studying at the Department of Political Science of the University of Gothenburg.

Yuksel is now an active member of Sweden's Centre Party, which is part of the country’s coalition government, and on Sunday was nominated as a parliamentary candidate in next year’s general election.

Nearly 70 percent of the delegates at a Centre Party assembly in Gothenburg voted for Yuksel, who is now hoping to build on the agrarian, environmentalist party’s 2014 performance.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Yuksel said he appreciated the backing of his Gothenburg colleagues: "The great support that the delegates gave me made me very happy."

The Centre Party has 22 lawmakers in Sweden’s 349-seat parliament, the Riksdag, although only one of those was elected from Gothenburg. Yuksel said he and his team will work hard to gain at least one more seat in his city.

Yuksel said his priorities would be the adaption of newcomers to Swedish society and preventing what he called "gang-related incidents in so-called ‘ghettos’".

Immigration

Sweden is a strong draw for many migrants and about 15 percent of its population was born abroad. An estimated 100,000 Turks live there.

One of the reasons migrants often prefer to go to Sweden is that they feel more recognized. The constitution promotes the rights of all communities, such as the entitlement to freely seek information, organize protests, form political parties and practice religion.

Despite the official policy of social inclusion in the Nordic country of about 10 million people, some politicians have faced threats and attacks from anti-immigration groups.

Last week, Sweden's Left Party representative in the central town of Falun, Patrik Liljeglod, said he was attacked and raped at knifepoint, describing the assault as politically motived.

Yuksel himself received a threatening mail earlier this year, demanding he leave the country after writing several articles in Swedish newspapers about public security problems in Gothenburg’s outskirts.

In parliament, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, which has been dogged by allegations of racism, remains isolated as mainstream parties maintain a cordon sanitaire. However, it has increased its electoral support since first breaking the electoral threshold in 2010.

However, Yuksel remains undeterred by the challenges ahead.

"My goal is to show that an immigrant can go to the Swedish parliament from dishwashing and do useful things for this country," he said.

* Atila Altuntas contributed to this report from Stockholm