Opened hearts closed

Do you remember last autumn's wave of support for receiving unlimited numbers of refugees, following the publication of the picture of a dead child washed up on a beach in Greece? We were told to open our hearts, and demonised as heartless racists if we questioned the wisdom of this policy. The Hungarians and Poles were hit with a barrage of criticism. When the Swedish Sverigedemokraterna suggested that border controls should be introduced, they were indignantly denounced.

"Refugees welcome" signs appeared all over Western Europe. I predicted that the mood would evaporate after a matter of weeks. The Swedish government has done exactly what the pariah SD party proposed three months ago. The last vestige of open-heartedness has vanished. The terrorism in Paris and the new year's events at Cologne have done the job more thoroughly that I would have even thought possible.

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