{"id":182599,"date":"2022-09-12T11:58:34","date_gmt":"2022-09-12T08:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/?p=182599"},"modified":"2022-09-12T11:58:34","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T08:58:34","slug":"swedish-opposition-inches-ahead-in-cliffhanger-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/swedish-opposition-inches-ahead-in-cliffhanger-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Swedish opposition inches ahead in cliffhanger election"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sweden\u2019s conservative parties look set to win power in Sunday\u2019s general election, taking a razor-thin lead amid a surge in support for the far-right.<\/p>\n

With 93 percent of electoral districts counted, figures showed the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals winning 176 of 349 seats in parliament, with the centre-left of incumbent Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson trailing behind with 173.<\/p>\n

The leader of the conservative bloc, Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson, noted that while the election results could still change, he was \u201cready to build a new and strong government\u201d.<\/p>\n

Andersson, whose Social Democrats have been in government for eight years, said results were too close to call and did not concede defeat on election night. Her party looked set to emerge as the country\u2019s biggest party with 30.5 percent.<\/p>\n

Election authorities said they did not expect a final result until Wednesday at the earliest, when votes from abroad and the last ballots from advance voting had been counted.<\/p>\n

The election campaign has been dominated by traditionally right-wing issues, such as concerns about immigration, crime and an increase in gang shootings.<\/p>\n

But a cost of living crisis as households and companies face surging power prices had been seen to boost Andersson, who is viewed as a safe pair of hands and is more popular than her party.<\/p>\n

Andersson was finance minister for seven years before becoming\u00a0Sweden\u2019s first female prime minister\u00a0a year ago.<\/p>\n

Kristersson had cast himself as the only candidate who could unite the right and unseat her.<\/p>\n

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats look set to overtake the Moderates as Sweden\u2019s second-biggest party \u2013 a historic shift in a country that has long prided itself on tolerance and openness.<\/p>\n

That may make it hard for Kristersson to keep the far-right party at arm\u2019s length. The Moderates were at 19 percent with the Sweden Democrats at 20.5 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now it looks like there will be a change of power. Our ambition is to sit in the government,\u201d Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson told jubilant supporters at a post-election party.<\/p>\n

Difficult negotiations<\/h2>\n

When Kristersson became leader of the Moderates in 2017, the Sweden Democrats, which has white supremacists among its founders, was\u00a0shunned by the right and left.<\/p>\n

But Kristersson has gradually deepened cross-party ties since a 2018 election loss and the Sweden Democrats are increasingly seen as part of the mainstream right.<\/p>\n

The prospect of the party having a say in government policy or joining the cabinet worries some voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fearing very much a repressive, very right-wing government coming,\u201d 53-year-old Malin Ericsson, a travel consultant, said earlier on Sunday at a voting station in central Stockholm.<\/p>\n

The strong showing for the Sweden Democrats follows gains for the anti-immigration right elsewhere in Europe where\u00a0Italy looks poised to elect a conservative grouping\u00a0including Giorgia Meloni\u2019s Brothers of Italy (FdI) and Matteo Salvini\u2019s League later this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have voted for a change in power,\u201d said Jorgen Hellstrom 47, a small business owner, as he voted near parliament. \u201cTaxes need to come down by quite a bit and we need to sort out crime. The last eight years have gone in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whichever side wins, negotiations to form a government in a polarised and emotionally-charged political landscape are likely to be long and difficult.<\/p>\n

Andersson will need to get support from the Centre Party and the Left, who are ideological opposites, and the Green Party as well, if the 55-year-old wants a second term as prime minister.<\/p>\n

The Social Democrats have governed Sweden since 2014 and dominated the political landscape since the 1930s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Social Democrats have had a good election,\u201d she told party members late Sunday, adding: \u201cSwedish Social Democracy stands strong\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sweden\u2019s conservative parties look set to win power in Sunday\u2019s general election, taking a razor-thin lead amid a surge in support for the far-right. With 93 percent of electoral districts counted, figures showed the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals winning 176 of 349 seats in parliament, with the centre-left of incumbent Prime Minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10221280388112155_325455220908133":"","twitter_917774835383787521_917774835383787521":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182599"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182610,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182599\/revisions\/182610"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}