In the elections in Sweden, the first post-election polls have shown Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s ruling Social Democrats to be ahead by a razor-thin margin. The Social Democrats were by far the strongest party in the forecast by the public broadcaster SVT and were even able to increase slightly compared to 2018 to more than 29 percent. The second strongest party was the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats with almost 20 percent. The conservative moderates slide down to third place.
The Social Democrats should no longer be able to take first place. However, it was initially not certain whether that would be enough for a left-wing majority together with the alliance partners from the Greens, the Left and the liberal Center Party and thus for a continuation of the government. Because the expected head-to-head race between the red-green liberal camp on the one hand and the middle-right on the other side actually became apparent on Sunday, no one expected reliable results before late Sunday evening. In the event of a particularly tight outcome, the votes of foreign voters, which will be counted from Wednesday onwards, could possibly be decisive.
The counting of the votes was also delayed because of the long queues in front of the polling stations in many parts of Sweden. On the one hand, this was due to a new electoral law that is intended to guarantee voters more privacy when voting. On the other hand, Sweden traditionally has a high turnout, at 87.2 percent in the 2018 election. Observers predicted an even higher turnout this time.
This is also due to the fact that both sides had stylized the election as a fateful choice. The right-wing camp accused the ruling Social Democrats of being responsible for the rise in violence and gang crime in Sweden’s suburbs. Opposition leader Ulf Kristersson’s election campaign revolved around his promise that he would bring “order” to Sweden. For their part, the Social Democrats focused primarily on the fact that, for the first time in Sweden’s history, the bourgeois camp has brought the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats (SD) on board to overthrow the government. Ex-Prime Minister Stefan Löfven called the SD, which was once founded by old and neo-Nazis, a “danger to democracy”.
Gang crime is a major concern for citizens
In the event of a right-wing majority, according to the plan of opposition leader Ulf Kristersson from the moderates, at least before the election, the middle-class would want to be elected and tolerated by the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. However, its moderates were still the traditionally second strongest party in Sweden. If the forecasts are correct, however, then that changed on Sunday: Regardless of the outcome of the election, party leader Jimmie Åkesson’s Sweden Democrats should celebrate the day’s winners, as they would have outperformed all middle-class forces on the right side of the political spectrum for the first time .
No matter which camp wins in the end, the government negotiations will be difficult and the challenges are immense. Fighting gang crime and rising energy prices and inflation top the list of concerns for citizens. NATO membership is not yet guaranteed either: it is still necessary to gain the approval of Turkey and its President Tayyip Erdoğan, who is shooting in the opposite direction.