Swedish Prime Minister to Resign After Opposition Secures Narrow Majority

STOCKHOLM — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced he would resign following the left-leaning opposition's narrow victory in the national election, according to final results released Thursday.

The Swedish Election Authority confirmed that the four opposition parties secured 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, known as the Riksdag, surpassing the 173 seats won by the parties forming or supporting the outgoing conservative-led government.

Former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats emerged as the largest single party with 99 seats, though they lost eight seats compared to the 2022 election. Andersson faces the challenge of forming a government amid internal tensions within the left-leaning bloc.

The final results were confirmed after early votes, including overseas ballots, were counted. Kristersson had led Sweden with a three-party center-right coalition that relied on support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party.

Kristersson had previously indicated the possibility of offering Cabinet positions to the Sweden Democrats if his coalition won. However, the election proved disappointing for the party, which fell to third place behind Kristersson's Moderates, securing 62 seats – 11 fewer than in the previous election.

The opposition bloc also faces internal divisions. The Center Party, which aligned with the left due to its opposition to governing with the Sweden Democrats, has also expressed reluctance to form a government with the Left Party, creating potential complications for any coalition formation across the traditional political divide.