Sweden faces weeks in limbo after far right makes gains
September 10, 2018
Sweden faces weeks of a stalemate after its traditional center-left and center-right blocs tied, with neither holding a majority. The far-right made gains on a hard-line anti-immigration platform.
Image: Reuters/TT News Agency/H. Montgomery
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Sweden's center-left and center-right blocs emerged neck and neck after Sunday's election. The far-right Sweden Democrats made significant gains to hold third place.
The parliamentary election was one of Sweden's most important because the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats — who rose from the white supremacist and neo-Nazi fringe — were expected to gain significant strength and change the landscape of Swedish politics. Read more:Sweden's general election results in stalemate as far-right support surges
Neck and neck
An initial allocation of parliamentary seats gave the center left 144 seats, compared with 143 for the center-right Alliance bloc.
The far-right Sweden Democrats gained 13 seats to hold third place, with 62.
175 seats are required to form a majority in the 349-seat Riksdag.
Swedish politics 2019: Who's who?
Sweden has struggled to form a government since the inconclusive election in 2018, spurred by a shaky minority coalition and the rise of the far-right Sweden Democrats. DW takes a look at the main party leaders.
Image: picture-alliance/DPR/TT/H. Franzén
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven — Social Democrats (S)
The Social Democrats under Prime Minister Stefan Lofven suffered their worst defeat in a century in September elections, losing 13 seats in parliament. Even so, Lovfen is expected to serve another term as the head of a minority government in a policy deal with the Greens, the Center Party, and the Liberals following months of failed attempts to form a coalition that could take the reins.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Simander
Ulf Kristersson — Moderate Party
Ulf Kristersson's Moderates had a stab at building a coalition, but failed. In the end Sweden's second-largest party will be sitting on the sidelines. Kristersson has said he will take advantage of the first opportunity to topple the new government. The right-wing party is mainly focused on law and order and job creation.
The far-right Sweden Democrats had their hopes set on a new government that would rely on them as kingmaker. But the mainstream parties were loathe to cooperate with SD. The party's popularity has spiked in recent years due to rising anti-migrant sentiment (Sweden took in over 160,000 asylum-seekers in 2015) and Akesson's efforts to cleanse the party of its neo-Nazi roots.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/J. Reinhart
Isabella Lovin and Gustav Fridolin — Green Party
The Greens agreed again to be the junior partner in a Social Democrat-led coalition. The party has been set on preventing the Sweden Democrats from holding sway over a new government. With their strong focus on environment, Lovin pushed for flight and carbon taxes as minister for international development and climate. Fridolin, education minister, plans to resign the co-leadership in May.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/M. Kaman
Annie Loof — Center Party
Sweden's Center Party emerged from the Democratic Farmers League, and while agriculture and environment remain key to its policies, Annie Loof emerged as the party's hope to attract urban and more progressive voters. Loof got a shot at forming a coalition, but gave up after a week. The party has said it backs the Social Democrats' plan to lead a new government but will not join it.
Left Party chief Jonas Sjostedt, a former metal worker and union leader, served in the European Parliament from 1995-2006. He returned to Swedish politics and was elected to parliament in 2010 and became party leader two years later. The Left agreed not to block a new government under the Social Democrats' Lofven out of fear that the far-right Sweden Democrats might gain power in a snap election.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/TT/A. Ihse
Jan Bjorklund — Liberals
A former army major, Liberals leader Jan Bjorklund has adopted a fighting approach to politics. The results have been mixed; the party's policy ideas on education and equality have been well received, while calls to expand the military and join NATO have mostly fallen on deaf ears. Despite internal divisions, the party has backed Lofven as premier though they will not be part of his government.
Image: picture-alliance/IBL Schweden/Aftonbladet/L. Björn
Ebba Busch Thor — Christian Democrats (KD)
Sweden's Christian Democrats have struggled to attract wide support, despite attempts to distance themselves from religious roots. Meanwhile, the party's increasingly harsh tone toward migration may have alienated more voters with Christian values than it has drawn in new ones. Ebba Busch Thor has criticized the Center Party and Liberals for backing Lovfen, suggesting they humiliated themselves.
"Voters made the Social Democrats Sweden's biggest party," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. "We need a cross-bloc cooperation." He said he would stay in his post for the next fortnight until the new parliament opens.
Parliamentary group leader Anders Ygeman said "it could take weeks, maybe even months," before Sweden has a government in place.
"The Alliance will not govern or discuss how to form a government with the Sweden Democrats," said Ulf Kristersson, head of the Moderates. "In some sense we're happy the Sweden Democrats didn't grow more than they did," said the Liberal lawmaker Allan Widman.
Meanwhile far-right leaders in Austria, Italy and France hailed the Sweden Democrats' results. "Sweden, birthplace of multiculturalism and model for the left, has finally decided to change after years of wild, uncontrolled immigration," Italy's far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, said on Twitter.
Breaking with traditions
The opposition Alliance bloc — comprised of the Moderates, Centre, Liberals and Christian Democrats — scored 40.3 percent of Sunday's vote. It would achieve a majority if it were to team up with the Sweden Democrats; however, the Centre and Liberals would likely not agree to join with the far right. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson invited the other two parties to formal negotiations, but was rejected.
The left-wing alliance — made up of the Left Party and the governing Social Democrats and Green Party — emerged with 40.6 percent of the vote. The bloc's leader, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, also refused to cooperate with the far right.
What happens next?
Analysts said that it will be difficult to form a stable government without some kind of support from the Sweden Democrats unless the blocs break away from their traditional alliances. Parliament opens on September 25. If the prime minister is ousted after a mandatory vote on whether to replace him, the speaker is permitted to give a maximum of four PM candidates the opportunity to form a government. If they all fail, fresh elections will be called.
