Parlamentswahl: Sozialdemokraten bei Wahl in Schweden vorn – Ausgang offen

In Sweden's parliamentary election, the Social Democrats, led by former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, emerged as the leading force according to predictions. The party secured 28.4% of the votes, though it remains to be seen if that is enough to form a government. The conservative party, headed by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, received 18.1% of the votes.

The right-wing populist Sweden Democrats came in third with 17.2% of the vote. Prognostications, released at 20:00, were based on post-election surveys. The exact political majority that will emerge remains to be determined. The opposition's challenge posed a better starting position. Parties supporting Andersson, including the Social Democrats, the left, Greens, and the liberal Centre Party, garnered 51.3% of the vote.

Kristersson's coalition of three parties and the right-wing populists together accounted for 46.8%. About eight million Swedes were eligible to vote. The opposition had led in polls well before the election, but a closer race for power emerged just before the voting day. The campaign focused on the country's handling of migration, gang crime, and the strengthening of criminal law.

It also discussed whether the right-wing populists could form a government in Sweden for the first time. "They (the Sweden Democrats) have developed a Swedish form of populism," said pollster Torbjörn Sjöström of the Swedish research institute Novus, as quoted by the ARD before the election. Kristersson's coalition, consisting of conservatives, Christian Democrats, and liberals, governed for the past years since the 2022 election with support from the right-wing populists.

Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson had stated before the election: "We had the opportunity to take responsibility. We took this opportunity." More: Sweden votes for a new parliament – power change or new taboo?