Sweden's general election is shaping up to be a close contest between the left- and right-wing political blocs, with current Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson indicating that hard-right allies could be offered cabinet positions if his bloc retains power.
Recent polling suggests a slight advantage for the left-wing grouping, which supports Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats for a return to leadership. Kristersson's current government has relied on support from the Sweden Democrats (SD), a party with historical ties to neo-Nazi movements. The outcome of the election may be influenced by the potential for the anti-immigration SD to gain a formal role in governance, alongside key issues such as national security, gang crime, and welfare spending.
Sweden's political landscape features two main blocs, comprising four parties each on the right and left, accustomed to coalition and minority governments. More than eight million citizens are eligible to vote for the Riksdag, Sweden's parliament. A poll released Friday by the Swedish news service Ekot indicated the left-wing bloc held 50.8% of the vote, compared to the right-wing bloc's 47.6%, a difference of 3.2%.
The Social Democrats, advocating for increased public spending, are leading in polls with 28.6% of the vote. The Sweden Democrats follow on the right with 18.3%, according to the Ekot survey. Other polls from Friday also placed the left-wing bloc ahead. Historically, the Social Democrats have been the dominant political force in Sweden, leading governments for much of the period since World War II. In contrast, the SD, founded by individuals with Nazi sympathies in the 1980s, was for many decades largely excluded from the political mainstream.