The Swedish prime minister, the social democrat Magdalena Andersson, announced this Wednesday that she will present her resignation after confirming the defeat of the center-left bloc against the right-wing opposition in the legislative elections on Sunday.
99.7 percent of the electoral districts were counted, the right-wing opposition won the elections by three seats, 176 to 173, according to the count of this Wednesday by the Electoral Authority, which includes the external vote and the early votes sent within deadline, but they did not arrive on time.
At the end of a last day of vote counting after very close elections on Sunday, the outgoing prime minister, the Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson, acknowledged the defeat of her bloc and announced her resignation, which will take effect this Thursday.
“Almost all the votes have been counted, but the preliminary election result is clear enough,” Andersson told a news conference. The outgoing prime minister predicted that it will be a tough and complicated legislature due to the small difference and expressed concern about the rise of the SD.
“That makes many Swedes uneasy. I see that uneasiness and I share it“, affirmed the prime minister, who urged to combat hatred and intolerance and called on the other three forces of the right to put limits on the SD. The social democratic leader also stressed that her party obtained a solid electoral result and that it is clearly the largest in Sweden.
The final result places the opposition block with 49.6 percent of the votes compared to 49 for the center-left and the difference between the blocks goes from one to three seats, compared to the result released on Monday.when the so-called “Wednesday votes” were yet to be counted.
Just over 44,500 votes separated the two blocs on Monday, which had maintained caution these days while waiting for a final result, although the four parties of the right-wing bloc held meetings and the Swedish media were already speculating on the possible distribution of portfolios. The “Wednesday votes” historically had little influence on the final result, with the exception of 1979, when they clinched victory for the right, after 8,500 votes separated the two blocs on election night.
The SD turned out to be the great winner of the elections, not only was it the force that grew the most, but also the one that snatched the leadership of the right-wing bloc from the conservatives, which it had held since 1979, and will have a direct influence on the formation of the government after a decade of isolation.
This far-right formation has historically been subjected to a “cordon sanitaire” by the rest of the forces since it entered Parliament in 2010, which explains why the Social Democrats have governed in the minority in the last two legislatures despite the fact that in the Chamber there were majority of the right.
In the last one, a pact with centrists and liberals was necessary, breaking the center-right alliance that existed since 2004, to maintain isolation, although conservatives, Christian Democrats and liberals, who changed sides again, defend for a long time negotiating with the extreme right, although without being in government.
The Swedish media are rumoring the possibility that conservatives and Christian Democrats will form a minority executive, headed by Kristersson and supported from outside by the other forces of the bloc. However, the SD claimed a central role and aspires to be part of the government, said its leader, Jimmie Åkesson, on election night.
The threat of the right was fulfilled
The change is historic, never before has a Swedish government supported itself to govern in the SD, the great winner of this electoral appointment with 20.6 percent of the votes and the newly released title of second party in the country. “Now the work begins to make Sweden go well again,” reacted its leader since 2005, Jimmie Åkesson, on his social networks, promising to be a constructive and initiative force.
The leader of the right-wing party was grateful for the votes and the electoral campaign that he defined as fantastic. In addition, he assured that the SD was the second largest party in the country. “Now the failed social democratic policy that for eight years has continued to lead the country down the wrong path will suffice. It is time to start rebuilding safety, well-being and cohesion. It’s time to put Sweden first. The Sweden Democrats will be a constructive and driving force in this work.”expressed the rightist in his social networks. “A process begins to define in detail how the winning team will be structured and it is a process that will take as long as it takes, all to build a new long-term stable board”he added.
The SD, which has been described as nationally conservative, anti-immigration (specifically anti-Islam), eurosceptic and far-right, was founded in 1988. The party normalized itself in the Swedish political landscape and increased its representation until entering parliament in 2010 with the 5.7 percent of the votes. From there, he was raising the votes in each election.
But, although the SD is the first party of the right-wing majority, its leader is not capable of gaining the support of the other formations to become prime minister, a position promised to Ulf Kristersson. “Thank you for the trust. Now we will put order in Sweden!” Kristersson, head of the conservative party, reacted immediately on the networks.