The European center-left could be relaunched in Sweden after a series of disastrous elections across the continent. According to initial exit polls released by public broadcaster SVT, the coalition led by Magdalena Andersson is ahead of its center-right rivals, led by outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson . But what's making headlines above all is the apparent flop faced by Jimmie Akesson's far-right coalition , which recent polls have identified as the likely winner of the election. His party, the Sweden Democrats, received 17.2% of the vote, down from 20.5% in the previous elections. Given this situation, Andersson will have to form a government by launching consultations, which, however, will be anything but easy for the former prime minister born in Uppsala .

The center-left coalition, made up of the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Center and Left, is leading with 51.3%. The center-right coalition, made up of the Moderates, Liberals, and Sweden Democrats (SD), is holding steady at 46.8%. Therefore, the good result of Kristersson's Moderates may have been in vain, as polls suggest they were seriously in danger of being overtaken by the far-right within the coalition.

The two main parties, the Social Democrats and the Moderates, nevertheless lost votes compared to the 2022 elections. The former stood at 28.4% (-1.9%), the latter at 18.1% (-1%). The Greens, however, recorded a small gain, with 7.4% (up 2.3% compared to 2022). The Left also performed well, with 8% (+1.2%) and the Center, with 7.5% (+0.8%). While we await the official results, this trend was effectively confirmed by the main exit polls released after the polls closed.

At the Social Democrats' headquarters in Stockholm, the applause-meter reached its highest level just as the results of Akesson's far-right party appeared on the screens. The Sweden Democrats swept across the country, with their anti-migrant slogans while simultaneously trying to gloss over their borderline pro-Nazi origins to win over moderate voters. Many in Europe expected the dark wave that began with the AfD's triumph in Saxony-Anhalt to also reach Stockholm, upending decades of social and immigration policies already severely undermined by the four years of Kristersson's government.

(Unioneonline)

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