Swedish right set to gain power after loss
STOCKHOLM: The head of Sweden’s Moderate Party, Ulf Kristersson, said yesterday he would begin the work of forming a new government after Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conceded her Social Democrats had lost the weekend’s general election.
The Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals appear set to get 176 seats in the 349seat parliament to the centreleft’s 173 seats, according to the latest figures from the election authority.
‘‘I will now start the work of forming a new government that can get things done,’’ Kristersson said in a video on his Instagram account.
The election marks a watershed in Swedish politics, with the antiimmigration Sweden Democrats, a party with roots in the white supremacist fringe, on the threshold of gaining influence over government policy.
The success of the party, which took over from Kristersson’s Moderates as the country’s secondbiggest, has raised fears that Sweden’s tolerant and inclusive politics are history.
However, its mantra that Sweden’s ills — particularly gang crime — are a result of decades of overgenerous immigration policies have hit home with many voters.
Though Kristersson’s party is smaller, Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson cannot get the broad backing from the right needed to oust the Social Democrats.
Kristersson is likely to try to form a government with the Christian Democrats and rely on support in parliament from the Sweden Democrats and Liberals.
The Sweden Democrats aim to make Sweden the European Union’s toughest on immigration policy, including legislation making it possible to deny people seeking asylum based on religious or LGBTQ grounds.
The Sweden Democrats look set to win 20.6% of the vote, against 19.1% for the Moderates. The Social Democrats will be at 30.4%. — Reuters