Sweden Votes as Kristersson Fights to Stay in Power, Sweden Democrats Eye Cabinet

Swedish voters cast ballots on Sunday in a parliamentary election that could decide whether Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson remains in office for another four years or former prime minister Magdalena Andersson returns to power.

Kristersson has led Sweden since 2022 through a three-party centre-right coalition that relies on support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party with far-right roots, to maintain a parliamentary majority. If the right-wing side retains power, the Sweden Democrats could enter the government and receive Cabinet positions for the first time.

The party won 20.5 per cent of the vote in the 2022 election, becoming the largest party on the right. Kristersson announced in April that his Moderate Party would allow the Sweden Democrats into government if the right secures a majority. He has said he would remain prime minister even if the Sweden Democrats emerge as the stronger party.

The Sweden Democrats were founded in the 1980s by people who had been active in right-wing extremist groups, including neo-Nazis. Under Jimmie Åkesson, who has led the party since 2005, it has toned down its rhetoric and expelled openly racist members while growing into a major parliamentary force.

Sweden’s political landscape is divided into two major blocs, with four parties on each side. The centre-right bloc includes the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals and Sweden Democrats, while the centre-left is led by Andersson’s Social Democrats along with the Centre Party, Left Party and Greens.

The election is for all 349 seats in the Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, which elects the prime minister. Individual parties must receive at least 4 per cent of the vote to win parliamentary seats.

More than 8 million people in the country of about 10.6 million are eligible to cast votes. The Swedish Election Authority said the first preliminary election results were expected around 9 pm local time, or 1900 GMT.

The election comes amid growing influence of populist right-wing parties in Europe, with the Sweden Democrats’ possible entry into government drawing particular attention.