Stockholm bridge row exposes inequalities fracturing Swedish society

The construction of a bridge that will connect one of Stockholm's poorest districts to a wealthier neighbourhood has sparked fierce debate and forced Sweden's deepening socioeconomic divisions further into the spotlight.

The bridge, which is set to be completed later this year, will join the underprivileged district of Rinkeby, in the north of Stockholm, with the more affluent area of Sundbyberg. 

Sweden's far-right claims the project will see criminality and delinquency spread across the city. But residents say the bridge will make commuting easier while also curbing segregation.

"It’s going to make it easier for buses, and for the people who work and live in the area. They’ll no longer have to make long detours," said Mustafa Andic, who grew up in Rinkeby but now lives in Sundbyberg.

Fatal offences in Sweden have increased by almost 40% in one year, and charities now say that socioeconomic inequality in the Scandinavian country has reached record highs. 

Rinkeby is one of the country's hotbeds for gang violence. 

"I don't want to go to another funeral. I'm tired of it! Too many of our kids are being buried," said Clarissa Seidou, a Rinkeby community police officer. "This can't go on. Kids having their lives ruined, 16-year-olds, 20-year-olds getting shot."

To curb the issue, and to secure the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats party, the Swedish government vowed to tighten migration policy and increase deportations.

“Today 20% of the Swedish population were born abroad. They come from low-income countries and have low education," he said. "This has greatly increased income inequality in Sweden." Martin Kinnunen, a Sweden Democrat MP told Euronews.

Kinnunen also claims that Sweden's mass immigration policy over the last