Society anguish of the working class : A Narrative Analysis of the Social Democratic Party Platforms, 1944–2025

Why have so many members of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) migrated from the Social Democrats (SAP) to the Sweden Democrats (SD)? This thesis explores this question by examining the narrative shift within the SAP between 1944 and 2025. Utilizing the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), the study analyzes how the party’s language in official programs transitioned from an offensive, visionary architect of the welfare state to a technocratic administrator of "artificial scarcity".The analysis shows that the party has shifted from being a "hero" that promised to build an equal society to an administrator primarily focused on the narrative that "resources are limited." The results indicate that this shift created a "representative vacuum" by prioritizing cognitive plausibility (budgetary discipline) over moral compellingness (social equality). This vacuum has subsequently been exploited by the Sweden Democrats, who have assumed the role of protecting the traditional "People's Home" (Folkhemmet). Ultimately, the study suggests that the SAP’s adoption of a technocratic management style has hindered its ability to mobilize its traditional working-class base.