More than 24 hours after the Swedes voted in the legislative elections, it is still impossible to present a clear framework for the alignment of political forces in parliament. Preliminary results suggest block the win which unites the forces of the right, but the party with the most votes must be the centre-left social democracy.
The main confidence in the results of Sunday’s legislative elections is that the Swedish far-right Democrats have achieved historic success, becoming the second most represented political force in parliament. On the other hand, the electorate also strengthened the position of the Social Democrats of the current Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who received the largest number of votes with more than 30% of the vote. However, without a parliamentary majority from the left bloc, it will be difficult for the new social democratic executive branch to become viable.
By Monday morning, about 95% of the votes had been counted, and the two blocs were separated by only one MP, with advantage on the right. Electoral officials say they should wait for the mail-in ballots to be counted until the final results are in, which should not happen until Wednesday.
The uncertainty has not stopped Swedish Democratic leader Jimmy Akesson from celebrating his party’s historic result. “The Swedish Democrats had a fantastic election,” he tweeted. “We are ready to participate constructively in the change of power and a new beginning for Sweden,” he added.
Whatever happens, the role of the Swedish Democrats in the future government decision will be huge. With about 20% of the vote (it received 17.5% in 2018), the party that emerged neo-Nazi movements will be able to at least influence the centre-right leader who takes office.
There is no certainty that a far-right party will formally enter government – several right-wing bloc parties have pledged not to form a government with the Swedish Democrats – but as the most representative party on the right wing of Parliament, it will have the power to approve or reject most legislative initiatives. If the final vote count confirms a majority of right-wing parties, everything points to the formation of a minority government of moderates, Christian Democrats and liberals, with parliamentary support from the far right.
Intense negotiations are expected in the coming months, and analysts do not expect the inauguration of a new government in the short term. “In a fragmented multi-party system, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a stable government coalition,” Johannes Berg, a researcher at the Oslo Institute for Social Research, told Reuters.
The historic record of the Swedish Democrats, who have always increased their representation since entering Parliament in 2010, reflects the growing success strongly anti-immigration speech promoted by the party. Despite the process Moderation since Akesson took over leadership of the party, including rebranding and expelling neo-Nazi and openly racist militants, the Swedish Democrats’ agenda has broken with the culture of tolerance and multiculturalism that has been commonplace in Sweden in recent decades.
The election campaign leading up to Sunday’s elections was dominated by the issue of immigration and the admission of foreigners to the Scandinavian country. The party decorated the subway cars with its colors, and the press secretary called it a “repatriation train” with a “direction to Kabul.”
“The Swedish Democrats are by far the largest party in the world with Nazi roots,” he said. Guardian Professor of Karlstad University Tobias Hubinett. The party “sees itself as the only political force capable of saving the majority of the white Swedish population”.
The coincidence of the campaign with a string of violent incidents involving organized crime in several Swedish cities, quickly linked to immigrant communities, also strengthened the position of the far right.
Regardless of the composition of the next government, the process Sweden’s entry into NATO decided a few months ago in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will continue. All major parties, from left to right, agree on the need to end Sweden’s historic policy of military neutrality, and to prioritize increased defense spending.
