Sweden elections: Farright makes gains, deadlock in govt formation

Sweden faced political deadlock on Monday after the far-right made gains in legislative elections that left the question of who will form the next government up in the air.

The prime minister is usually the leader of the party with the most votes, but Sweden’s fragmented political landscape after Sunday’s vote makes it impossible to predict who will build the next government. Neither Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s centre-left bloc nor the centre-right opposition garnered a majority.

The far-right Sweden Democrats solidified their position as third-biggest party and kingmaker, albeit with a lower score than they had expected.

Far-right parties have gained strength in elections in recent years in several European countries, including Germany and Italy. Far-right leaders in Austria, Italy and France hailed the strides made by the Sweden Democrats.

Politicians in Sweden will now “need a lot of imagination” to form a government, daily Svenska Dagbladet wrote.

“However the dramatic bloc battle plays out, it looks like it will be difficult for Sweden to have a functioning government,” paper of reference Dagens Nyheter predicted.

Lofven met Monday with his party leadership to map out the road ahead. The party’s parliamentary group leader, Anders Ygeman, said “it could take weeks, maybe even months” before Sweden had a government in place. AFP

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