Exit polls suggest Sweden's former PM Magdalena Andersson poised to return as right-wing alliance falters

STOCKHOLM — Former center-left Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is on course to retake power in Sweden as exit polling suggests a rightwing alliance that includes the far right is falling short.

Andersson, the leader of the Social Democrats, spent much of the election campaign warning voters against handing ministerial posts to what she called an “extremist” party with “neo-Nazi” roots — the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.

If the survey proves accurate, it would mean rejection for incumbent PM Ulf Kristersson. The conservative Moderate party leader had decided to work closely with the Sweden Democrats and promised to give them seats in cabinet for the first time if he won.

According to Sweden’s SVT public broadcaster, Andersson’s left bloc is on track to take 51.3% of the vote.(Sweden’s electoral system is based on proportional representation.) Kristersson’s alliance on the right is projected to win 46.8%.

Exit polls have not always been accurate in the past, but the picture should become clearer later on Sunday night when broadcasters are expected to announce updated forecasts after a critical mass of districts declare results. Whoever ends up winning, party leaders will take weeks to finalize a new coalition agreement.

“Swedish elections are always close,” Andersson told POLITICO earlier on Sunday as she toured the suburbs of Stockholm in her dark red campaign bus. “When I’ve been around Sweden, a lot of people I’ve spoken to said they see things that the government has done that they like but there are also lots of things that they don’t like. And many people say to me that it’s enough now.”

With the prospect of the far right entering government for the first time, the vote marks a watershed moment for Sweden that will be watched closely elsewhere in Europe, where other populist nationalist parties are gaining ground.

Even Andersson accepts that a victory for her left bloc would not consign the Sweden Democrats to history, especially if the final result is a narrow one.

“The hate that they have spread through this election, and if they would become ministers and use their platforms as ministers to spread hate? Well, we’ll see if the Swedish people are very tempted on that,” she said.