Once a fringe party was avoided by others across the political spectrum, preliminary results showed that the Swedish Democrats received nearly 21% of the vote.
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A group of right-wing political parties managed to make very little progress in the Swedish general election, according to preliminary results, and appear to be on course to defeat a left-wing bloc led by Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
Sunday’s polls initially predicted a narrow victory for the ruling centre-left Social Democrats in Anderson and their allies, though the tally has since shifted to the political right with partial results announced throughout the evening.
after, after nearly 95% Of the votes counted on Monday morning, the four-party right-wing bloc, led by moderate center-right Ulf Christerson, took 175 seats, with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats set to score its best electoral result yet. .
Meanwhile, the four parties supporting Anderson as prime minister appeared poised to win 174 seats.
If these results are confirmed, it means that the group of right-wing parties has secured a parliamentary majority that could pave the way for the bloc to try to form a government.
A conclusive result is not expected until Wednesday at the earliest, with postal vote counting and votes from citizens living abroad continuing.
There are a total of eight parties (four on the right, four on the left) vying for seats in the 349-seat Swedish parliament, or Riksdag.
Sunday’s preliminary results put the Social Democrats on 30.5% of the vote, confirming its standing as the largest party. However, Andersen may struggle to stay in power as the far-right Swedish Democrats make significant gains.
Sweden, a Scandinavian country of about 10.5 million people, is famous for being one of the most progressive countries in Europe and It is consistently ranked among the happiest countries in the world.
Rise right
Andersen became Sweden’s first female prime minister last year.
Jonathan Nakstrand | Afp | Getty Images
The Swedish Democrats emerged from the neo-Nazi movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s and have since struggled to distance themselves from accusations of extremism. The party won representation in Parliament for the first time in 2010 with 5.7% of the vote.
A gradual increase in national support then led the moderate centre-right party to embrace cooperation with the Swedish Democrats in 2018. The moderates led by Christerson had previously ruled out negotiating with the right-wing party.
Tragedy in many deeds
Sunday’s preliminary results saw the moderate party receiving 19.1% of the vote, with Leader Kristerson likely to be the right-wing bloc’s favorite candidate for prime minister.
“We don’t know what the outcome will be,” Christerson told supporters. Reuters reported. “But I am willing to do everything in my power to form a new, stable and strong government for all of Sweden and all of its citizens.”
Sonny Kapoor, professor of climate and macroeconomics at the European University Institute, said via Twitter that preliminary results indicate that the Swedish Democrats will become the country’s largest party on the political right and may be able to choose the next prime minister.
“This is a tragedy in a lot of business,” Kapoor said.
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