Sweden’s centrists prevail as far-right has its best showing

STOCKHOLM — Sweden looked set for a period of political confusion after election results Sunday put a center-right bloc and the governing center-left coalition neck and neck, while a far-right, anti-immigration party looked set to come in third — winning a higher percentage of the vote than ever before but achieving less of a breakthrough than polls had suggested.

With more than 97 percent of ballots counted, the national election commission reported that the governing center-left Social Democrats had 28.4 percent of the vote, making it the largest single vote-getter but handing the party its worst showing in decades.

The center-right Moderate Party was next at 19.2 percent, while the far-right Sweden Democrats were running third, with 17.6 percent, up from 12.9 percent in 2014 but a less successful showing than many Swedes had feared. Some polls had predicted that the Sweden Democrats would come in second, with more than 20 percent of the vote.

The red-green bloc of center-left, leftist and environmental parties, led by the Social Democrats, had 40.7 percent of the vote. The center-right alliance, led by the Moderates, was just behind with 40.3 percent. The results mean neither bloc can command a majority in Parliament, and both have rejected the idea of any deal with the Sweden Democrats.

The campaign was unusually polarizing in a country known for seeking political consensus. The main issues were also the most contentious: immigration, crime, the welfare state and, after a summer of forest fires, the environment.

For some voters, the fierce debates were a welcome change.

“In Sweden, we have been too afraid to discuss the issues,” said Anders Nilsson, 54, who voted for the Center party in Botkyrka, a diverse suburb south of Stockholm. “Now we dare to discuss tough questions.”

This election has been one of the most closely watched in Sweden’s recent history, with a focus on how the Democrats would perform given the rise of antiimmigration populist parties in countries like Germany, Italy and Austria.