Sweden‘s hard-Right is set to miss out on a breakthrough role in the next government as preliminary election results showed the country’s centre-Left opposition could take power with a narrow three-seat lead.
With more than 90 per cent of the votes counted on Monday morning, Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson, the former prime minister, could return as the country’s leader – as a single seat was predicted to give her Left-leaning bloc a majority in parliament.
A victory for the opposition would reverse Sweden’s rightward shift of the past four years, during which the country has gone from one of Europe’s most welcoming destinations for migrants to one with some of its toughest asylum rules.
The Social Democrats have historically been and remains today Sweden’s biggest party with around 28 per cent of the vote – a percentage big enough to secure a majority in partnership with its Left-wing allies.
Left-leaning parties headed by Ms Andersson were projected to win 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament while Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s hard-Right bloc was seen winning 173 seats, the election authority said.
Mr Kristersson, leader of the Moderates Party, has led the rival four-party coalition. He has been supported in government by hard-right Sweden Democrats, and had promised cabinet jobs if he remains in charge.
‘If this result remains valid, Sweden will get a new government,’ Ms Andersson told supporters after the preliminary results were published on Sunday night.
The Sweden Democrats, who hoped to join a government for the first time in the event of a win for the ruling bloc, lost an estimated 11 seats, projections showed.
Sweden’s Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson spoke during the Social Democrats’ election night on Sunday
Swedish Prime Minister and leader of the centre-Right party the Moderate Party, Ulf Kristersson, spoke to the media after voting during the general election on Sunday
It is the first election during with the Sweden Democrats agreed to support Mr Kristersson’s second term as prime minister with a coalition government.
Founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s, the party was ostracised until 2022 when it became the country’s second largest party after its advocating on violent crime and immigration.
Party leaders, however, have been cautious about claiming victory or accepting defeat with 353 election districts still to be counted and overseas votes not likely to be tallied until Wednesday.
Sweden has two major political blocs consisting of four parties on the Right and four on the Left, therefore making coalitions and minority governments more likely.
In 2022, exit polls initially gave a narrow victory to the center-Left which proved premature and Mr Kristersson showed no sign of conceding when he spoke after Sunday’s election.
The blocs were separated by just 0.45 per cent of votes on Monday morning. If a center-Left win is confirmed, forming a government could take some time.
While Ms Andersson will be prime minister, it remains unclear which other parties will be in her government. The Centre Party has refused to share power with the Left Party which says it must be a part of any coalition.
‘It could very well be a complicated process to form a government,’ the speaker of the parliament, Andreas Norlen, told Swedish television.
Citizens queue outside an early voting station ahead of general election in Stockholm on Friday
Supporters of opposition leader Ms Andersson wait for her for a TV debate with incumbent Prime Minister Kristersson on Saturday
The result of the election is unlikely to change the course of Sweden’s pro-Western and pro-Ukraine stance and its effect on immigration and economic policy is unclear.
Ms Andersson has promised voters more spending on welfare, a fairer tax system and a focus on social cohesion. But while the Greens and Left parties want the rich to contribute more, the Centre Party is against a billionaires’ tax.
The Social Democrats are unlikely to ease immigration rules, as campaigned for by the Left and Green parties, with Ms Andersson saying Sweden has to continue its tough line.
Ms Andersson was Sweden’s first woman prime minister in November 2021, replacing Stefan Lofven.
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