Swedish Social Democrat Prime Minister (PM) Magdalena Andersson officially stepped down on Thursday after losing an election to a coalition of four right-wing parties who will now form a government for the first time.
Announcing her resignation, Andersson said, “In parliament, they have a one or two seat advantage,” she lamented, adding, “It’s a thin majority, but it is a majority.” Addressing concerns about the white supremacist tendencies of the winning coalition, she said, “I see your concern and I share it.”
While the results have not been officially declared, Andersson’s Social Democrats party secured the largest number of votes. However, her three centre-right allies failed to gather sufficient votes to secure a majority.
The far-right and anti-immigration Sweden Democrats emerged as the second-largest party with 20.6% of the vote share. It will now form a coalition with the conservative Moderates, Christian Democrats, and Liberals after cumulatively securing a majority of 176 out of 349 seats, just three more than Andersson’s coalition.
Ovärdigt och ansvarslöst.
— Edward Nordén (@Edward_Norden_) September 15, 2022
Att kändisar och politiker till vänster skapar en bild av att regeringsbyte innebär våld och hot är anmärkningsvärt.
Hade förväntat mig mer av Magdalena Andersson (S).
Långt mer. pic.twitter.com/4fxjGorwZG
Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson will likely become the next PM even though his party secured the third-highest number of votes. Kristersson said on Wednesday: “I am ready to do all I can to form a new, stable and vigorous government for the whole of Sweden and all its citizens.”
While the party with the highest votes in the coalition usually appoints the PM, Kristersson is a more favourable choice compared to Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson, who has more divisive and extreme views, particularly given the party’s neo-Nazi roots.
Nevertheless, Åkesson celebrated the victory and vowed to ensure that his party acts as a “constructive and driving force” to rebuild security, welfare, and cohesion in Sweden.
He declared that it is “time to put Sweden first,” adding that the new government would change the “failed social democratic policies that for eight years have continued to lead the country in the wrong direction.”
Jimmie Åkesson was so successful at detoxifying the Swedish Democrats and making it the most successful right-wing party in Sweden.
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) September 11, 2022
Their election results by year since he took over:
2010 - 5.7% (20 seats)
2014 - 12.9% (49)
2018 - 17.5% (62)
2022 - 21% (72)
The far-right coalition’s victory marks a monumental change in Swedish politics. In 2010, after the Sweden Democrats first entered the Parliament, the party was shunned by all other political players. After emerging from a neo-Nazi movement in the 1980s, the party sought to improve its image to enter mainstream politics by focusing on Swedish national traditions and culture.
This year, the call to end the rising gang shootings was central to Åkesson’s party campaign. Immigration and integration concerns and surging energy prices also featured heavily in its campaigns. The Sweden Democrats have often said they favour an “open Swedishness” policy, wherein it welcomes immigrants provided they leaden the language and adopt the culture.
However, the far-right coalition is unified in its opposition to Muslim immigrants, arguing that their arrival from various Islamic countries during the Arab Spring has led to an increase in crime.
In fact, anti-Muslim rallies have frequently led to violent confrontations in the country over the last few years.
Andersson was appointed as PM last year, becoming the country’s first female leader. Her Social Democrats party has led the government since 2014. Her time in office has been wrought with challenges.
Last November, she resigned less than 12 hours after her appointment after the parliament rejected her coalition government’s budget bill, though she was reappointed a week later.