Fruaengen (Sweden) (AFP) - Surrounded by drab high-rise buildings in a Stockholm suburb, dressed in an impeccable dark suit, Jimmie Aakesson struggles to make himself heard over the shouts of protesters echoing off grey stone walls.
The leader of the Sweden Democrats has been the driving force that has transformed the party from its roots into a significant political force fed by disaffection with immigration.
Now, the party is vying for the position of third-largest political force in national elections on Sunday, with the potential to cause major disruption in a parliament - which may be led by a weak minority left-green coalition - where all parties have shunned them.
"Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's biggest election promise is continued refugee immigration. I think that's the wrong priority," Aakesson tells a small crowd of pensioners and local shop workers.
"Our welfare state is collapsing from high refugee immigration... It costs an awful lot of money - it's built on segregation and exclusion," Aakesson said.
Sweden has one of the world's most generous refugee policies. An estimated 80,000 refugees are expected to apply for asylum there this year, and it grants automatic residency to all refugees fleeing the Syria conflict.
The Sweden Democrats want a radical overhaul of these laws, arguing money should instead be spent on social welfare and humanitarian aid to cap the numbers arriving in the first place.
The party's support has almost doubled since it first entered parliament in 2010 to around 10 percent today, which can give it the power to block laws proposed by an incoming minority government, currently predicted in the polls.
At European Parliament elections in May it won 9.7 percent of the vote and two seats, its best result to date.
Supporters claim the party is unfairly treated by the mainstream media.
"I think that the media is very biased," said Linnea Cortes, an 18-year-old Sweden Democrat candidate in Stockholm.
"You can see that a clear majority of journalists belong to the left-green bloc."
Opinion polls still show majority support for Sweden's generous refugee policy, but more are starting to listen to the anti-immigration party.
For Sven Olav Lundberg, a 75-year-old pensioner at Aakesson's election rally in Fruaengen, the party's success is a wake-up call for Sweden's political establishment.
"The other parties are starting to talk about immigration now. Why didn't they do it before?" he asked with a frown.
"The Sweden Democrats will get bigger - because of immigration. There just isn't housing or workfor all the immigrants and refugees."
