Swedish PM resigns after right, far-right poll win

Swedish PM resigns after right, far-right poll win

Andersson said she would hand in her resignation on Thursday
Andersson said she would hand in her resignation on Thursday. Photo: Jessica GOW / TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP
Source: AFP

New feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block and enjoy!

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday announced that she would resign after an unprecedented right-wing and far-right bloc narrowly won Sunday's election.

Out of the Swedish parliament's 349 seats, the right-wing opposition was set to win 176, thanks in part to a surge by far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), with over 99 percent of districts counted.

Speaking at a press conference, Andersson, Social Democrats party leader, noted that it was a "narrow majority, but a majority nonetheless.

"So tomorrow I will hand in my resignation as prime minister, and the responsibility for the continued process will go to the speaker," Andersson said.

Sunday's elections were so close that tens of thousands of votes from abroad and those cast in advance had to be counted to validate the results.

'Making Sweden great again'

Read also

Pope arrives in Kazakhstan to promote 'dialogue'

Never before has a Swedish government relied on the support of the anti-immigration and nationalist SD, who became the big winners of the vote, by gaining more than three percentage points.

PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!

The task of forming the next government will likely fall to Moderate party leader Ulf Kristersson
The task of forming the next government will likely fall to Moderate party leader Ulf Kristersson. Photo: Fredrik SANDBERG / TT News Agency/AFP
Source: AFP

With 20.6 percent of votes counted so far the party emerged as Sweden's second largest party behind the Social Democrats, which have dominated Swedish politics since the 1930s.

However, the post of Prime Minister will in all likelihood go to the leader of the Moderate Party, Ulf Kristersson, as SD leader Jimmie Akesson is unable to unite all four parties to head the government.

"I now begin the work of forming a new and strong government," Kristersson said in a video posted to Facebook.

Kristersson, a former gymnast, led a major U-turn for his party when initiating exploratory talks in 2019 with the Sweden Democrats and then deepening their cooperation.

Read also

Jimmie Akesson leads Sweden's soaring far-right

The Christian Democrats, and to a lesser extent the Liberals, later followed suit.

'Now the work begins of making Sweden great again,' said Akesson
'Now the work begins of making Sweden great again,' said Akesson. Photo: Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP/File
Source: AFP

At the same time the thorny question remains of whether the far-right would be given cabinet posts, which Akesson said late Sunday was their "goal".

In a post to Facebook on Wednesday, Akesson thanked "friends of Sweden", around the country.

"Now the work begins of making Sweden great again," the party leader said.

The Sweden Democrats rose up out of neo-Nazi groups and the "Keep Sweden Swedish" movement in the early 1990s, entering parliament in 2010 with 5.7 percent of votes.

Difficult situation

Long shunned as "pariahs" on the political scene, the party has registered strong growth in each subsequent election as it made efforts to clean up its image.

Its hardline stance on soaring gang shootings and integration set the tone in this year's election.

The narrow majority also means a right-wing government's hold on power would be very fragile, with the four parties fiercely opposed on a number of issues, especially the Liberals and Sweden Democrats.

Read also

Italy's far-right eyes easy victory under firebrand Meloni

"This is a difficult parliamentary situation", Gothenburg University political scientist Mikael Gilljam told AFP.

"And then you have parties that don't like each other, the Sweden Democrats and the Liberals" in the same right-wing bloc, he added.

In such a situation, a few disgruntled MPs could end up flipping the balance of power.

Behind the SD with 73 seats, 11 more than in the last elections in 2018, the Moderates have 68 seats (-2), while the Christian Democrats have 19 (-3) and the Liberals 16 (-4).

On the left, the Social Democrats climbed to 107 seats (+7) thanks to the managing to get 30.4 percent of the vote, ahead of the Left and Centre party (24 seats each) and the Green Party (18).

Formally, the process of political changeover can only start after the announcement of Prime Minister Andersson's resignation on Thursday.

Then the speaker of the Riksdag, the Swedish Parliament, can give Ulf Kristersson the task of forming a majority between the four parties, opening a period of negotiations.

Read also

Three main rivals face off in Sweden's tight election race

The election of the new head of government cannot take place before September 27 at the earliest, when parliament re-opens.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.