Sweden's Right-Wing Opposition Takes Slim Lead in Hard-Fought Election

The election was notable for the historic performance of the national-conservative Sweden Democrats, which despite adverse media coverage became the largest party on the right and a force to be reckoned with.

The Swedish election has developed into a real nailbiter, as as the two blocs, the left-leaning “red” bloc and the right-leaning “blue” one are currently divided by a single vote, with the final result being presented on Wednesday 14 September.

The national-conservative Sweden Democrats, running on a tough anti-immigration and anti-crime agenda, have had their best-ever performance, becoming the second-largest party at some 20 percent, trailing only the ruling Social Democrats at slightly over 30 percent. Seen against the backdrop of their steady rise from obscurity in a matter of several decades, having gone from a fringe party in the 1990s to harvesting 17.6 percent in 2018, they are considered to be the winners of the election by many experts.

“If there is a change of power, we will have a central position in the new government that is in place. Our ambition is to sit in the government. Our ambition is a majority government, what we see as the absolute best for Sweden right now”, the Sweden Democrats perennial leader Jimmie Åkesson said.

Sweden Democrat party secretary Richard Jomshof called the election result, in which his party eclipsed the liberal-conservative Moderates, the historic party of the Swedish right, “extremely gratifying.” Jomshof voiced hopes of a new government and added that it would be “very sad” if the Moderates “backed down so much” that the ruling Social Democrats remain in power.

Previously, the “red” bloc and the “blue” blocs overcame their major differences to gang up on the Sweden Democrats and form a protective fence around them to bar from entering parliament despite major electoral gains.

Nevertheless, despite this cordon sanitaire policy and overtly negative media coverage, in which the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats are portrayed as borderline Nazis, representatives of the “blue” bloc have become increasingly receptive to cooperation with the former pariahs.

The Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson was careful to emphasize that the election result was far yet clear, yet voiced his readiness to create a “new and effective government for the whole of Sweden and for all citizens.”

Prime Minister and Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson mused that her party had a good election as well, gaining several percent from their 2018 performance, the worst in over a century. The party admittedly had its golden age between the mid-1930s and the mid-1980s, regularly receiving close to and even over 50 percent. In recent years, the Social Democrats have been forced to enter broad coalitions or make far-reaching concessions and rule as a minority governments.