The country has been governed by a right-wing coalition since 2022, led by outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The executive has the external support of the nationalist Swedish Democrats (SD) party. Despite having no ministers, the formation had an important influence on the decisions of the majority. Now, thanks to an agreement between their leader Jimmie Akesson and the prime minister, they could form a government together. Kristersson explained: "There is nothing dramatic about this. It is clear to everyone that we have been collaborating successfully for four years." The prime minister, with a reference to Donald Trump's slogan, said he intends to "make Sweden great again".
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The nationalist Sweden Democrats party entered parliament for the first time in 2010 with 5% of the votes, and became the second party thanks to the 20.5% obtained in the last elections in 2022. "Since they entered parliament they have grown with each election cycle, they are the only ones in Europe to have managed to make a climb like this," explained Patrik Öhberg, associate professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg. "Their success relies heavily on the divergence of opinions on asylum seekers, an issue on which the rest of the political parties have adopted a more open policy, while citizens have maintained more scepticism."
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On the other side of the political spectrum is the alliance of center and left parties, which hopes to defeat the government in office and wrest a majority from the Riksdag. Leading the bloc is the leader of the Social Democrats Magdalena Andersson, who has already been prime minister from 2021 to 2022. The alliance is made up not only of Andersson's formation, but also of the Greens and the Center party. To obtain a majority he would still need the support of the Left, which however would not want to provide external support but enter the executive directly.
As reported by Reuters, the centre-left coalition is entering the elections with a slight advantage indicated by the polls. According to three different institutes, the bloc led by Magdalena Andersson should reach a consensus range between 49.3% and 50.8%, which would guarantee a slim majority of between 175 and 180 seats. On the other hand, the coalition that supports the outgoing prime minister Ulf Kristersson is polled at between 47.6% and 49.0% of the votes, which would guarantee between 169 and 174 seats in the Riksdag. However, it should be noted that, as the vote approaches, the centre-left's advantage has gradually diminished until it reaches the current gap: the game is therefore very open.
The Sweden Democrats, according to polls, should obtain around 19% of votes, in line with what happened in the elections 4 years ago. If the centre-right coalition managed to impose itself, the SD would, as mentioned, fully enter the government of the country: it would be a new success for right-wing formations in Europe, after that of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. On the other hand, according to the leader of the Moderates and outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, "if the left won, two out of three, or two out of four parties, would vote against Sweden remaining in NATO".
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As mentioned, there are approximately 7 million eligible voters, but more than 3 million citizens have already taken advantage of the pre-voting option to express their preferences. Furthermore, today's vote is not only taking place for the renewal of Parliament but also for that of regional and municipal councils throughout the country.
In Sweden the polls will close at 8pm today, both for the parliamentary elections and for the renewal of regional and municipal councils across the country. The first official results, as communicated by the Riksdag itself, are expected around 9pm, but the first exit polls should instead arrive immediately after the end of the electoral operations. Once the results have been acquired, the president of parliament will summon the leader of the winning party to start consultations and form a new government.
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