The uncertainty of the election results and the political aftermath

The opposition won and the government side lost, read the headlines. "Goodbye, Tidö", howls the left happily. And of course it is the case that Sweden cast its vote and that we have a result, but what it says is all the less clear. We also know that the government base received roughly 50,000 fewer votes than the other parties, as well as that these other parties in some way themselves want to be involved in governing and voting. Beyond that, however, there is almost complete confusion about what the result actually tells us and what 6,829,278 Swedes actually voted for the government.

Leading social democrats think Ulf Kristersson (M) is small-minded who does not admit defeat or let Magdalena Andersson (S) be congratulated on the victory. They believe that Sweden rejected his government and policies, and instead voted for them, whereupon Kristersson thus lost. And a good loser should of course congratulate his boss.

The outgoing Prime Minister's waiting is understandable, however, because it is actually difficult to see Andersson as a winner or even Kristersson as a loser. Because while S lost 2.3 percentage points of support to a record low 28 percent, the Moderates increased by 0.7 percentage points. In fact, the governing parties increased by 2.3 percentage points compared to the last election, which is almost historic as responsible governments are rarely rewarded by the voters.

Parties that stand for bourgeois ideals such as the freedom of the individual, personal responsibility, market economy, property rights, law and order and low taxes collected a convincing 55.8 percent support against the left's 42.5 percent. If only the Center Party had not lashed itself so hard to the anti-SD mast, Andersson's S would have been the election's big loser. It had also meant that middle-class Sweden and its middle-class voters got the government that the country and its inhabitants actually seem to have voted for.

It is right and reasonable of Kristersson to wait with the congratulations of Andersson, as it is doubtful whether she even won and that he himself lost. Time will tell and Andersson will have to prove this, in the coming, to put it mildly, challenging government puzzle.