Initially, it was anticipated that those supporting the government would have a slight advantage in the parliamentary elections; however, the situation shifted in favor of the conservatives while the votes were being counted, leaving the possibility of any conclusion open.
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| [Stockholm, Sweden] |
The suspenseful election drama that has been unfolding in Sweden is set to continue for at least one more day: the preliminary results of the Swedish parliamentary elections are expected to be made public on Wednesday at the earliest. According to the electoral authorities, who spoke to the TT news agency early on Monday morning, counting of late ballots and votes cast from overseas did not begin until after that point.
The left-wing team of Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson was originally seen to be in the lead, according to early estimates. After around half of all votes were tabulated, the race began to tilt in favor of the conservative candidate Ulf Kristersson. This was partially due to the historically high performance of the populist right-wing Sweden Democrats. On election night, it was initially anticipated that there would be a preliminary outcome.
Due to the fact that the contest between the two candidates was so tight, many of the prominent politicians originally refrained from making remarks in the evening. The Swedish media referred to the election as a "valrysare," which literally translates to "election thriller." The only word that was repeated during the numerous election parties was "exciting!"
At the moment, Sweden's eight parliamentary parties may be broken down into two groups of four: a block of left-leaning parties and a block of conservative parties. Before the election, the coalition led by Andersson had a bare majority of 175 of the 349 members in Parliament, while the coalition led by Kristersson held 174 of those seats.
After almost all of the votes were counted, Kristersson's conservative four-party bloc, which included the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, was 0.9 percentage points ahead of Andersson's camp. This is despite the fact that Kristersson's Moderates as an individual party must come to terms with their worst election result in the past 20 years. According to the election authorities, his team had 176 mandates, whereas Andersson's team only had 173.
On election night, each of the eight chairmen of parliamentary parties highlighted that their respective parties were still in the running for the seat. "We don't know how this will finish," Kristersson added. "We don't know how this will conclude." At the same time, he highlighted that he was prepared to establish a whole new government that was full of vitality.
Jimmie Akesson, the head of the right-wing populists, will almost certainly play a crucial role in the outcome of these elections, and it is quite unlikely that he will be able to win without his support. He told the followers of the party who were cheering him on that "we're a pretty large party today." In 2010, the party earned 5.7 percent of the votes; it is anticipated to currently be receiving 20.7 percent of the votes. The Sweden Democrats have surpassed the moderates to become the second strongest force in the country for the very first time. Claims for kesson may now be made as a result of this. "Our objective is to sit in government," he stated.
It is quite probable that the process of creating a government in Sweden will take a significant amount of time, just as it did after the general election that took place four years ago. This is the case regardless of the result of the election. Actually, the coalition of conservatives and right-leaning independents backs Kristersson, but Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson may also make claims given his party's impressive showing.
Andersson was only elected Prime Minister of Sweden in November 2021, following her party colleague Stefan Lofven as Prime Minister and being the first woman to hold the position ever. Since then, the former minister of finance has been leading a minority administration that is exclusively composed of Social Democrats. This government has been able to function in the Reichstag thanks to the backing of the liberal Center Party, the Left, and the Greens. On the other hand, Kristersson is supporting moderates, Christian Democrats, and Liberals, as well as the Sweden Democrats, who have been fully outside of it for a considerable amount of time.
The incumbent Andersson voiced her "concerns about a government that is fully reliant on the Sweden Democrats" at her last campaign speech in Stockholm on Saturday. That would be like saying that we would have "another Sweden" for the next four years.
Her opponent Kristersson was the first conservative party leader to signal a change in his party: in 2019, he initiated discussions with the Sweden Democrats headed by party leader Jimmie Akesson, who are nationalist and anti-immigrant. After that, his political allies, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, did the same thing.
This time around, the concerns of increased crime and violent gangs, immigration and failing integration, and rising energy costs were prioritized as the primary focuses of the election campaign. These are all topics on which the Sweden Democrats had an opportunity to earn points.
According to Anders Lindberg of the Aftonbladet newspaper, the end of the Sweden Democrats' political isolation and the possibility of becoming the biggest right-wing party is "an major transformation in Swedish society."
The party that is now headed by party leader Jimmie Akesson developed from the neo-Nazi movement in the late 1980s. In 2010, the party entered the Swedish Reichstag for the first time with 5.7 percent of the votes, and by 2018, they had already achieved 17.5 percent of the votes.
Their growth throughout the course of the previous decade has coincided with a major surge in the number of immigrants. Sweden, with its ten million residents, took in roughly half a million asylum seekers throughout this time. Because of the Sweden Democrats' vocal resistance to immigration while also preserving the Swedish social state, the party has gained popularity among groups with lower incomes and senior citizens.
The percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots in Sweden's elections is consistently high; in 2018, it reached 87 percent, which was the highest level in the past three decades. A deadlock that lasts for four months as it did during the election in 2018 would be a nightmarish situation for this election. The current economic crisis, NATO's impending membership, and the upcoming presidency of the EU Council in 2023 all provide huge problems for the next administration. According to statements made by Barrling to AFP, "the urgency to create a cohesive and efficient administration is stronger now than it was at the time of the previous election."