Swedes head to polls in close-run election marked by crime, energy crisis
- Election pits incumbent Magdalena Andersson of the centre-left Social Democrats against Ulf Kristersson’s Sweden Democrats
- Uncertainty looms large, with both blocs facing long and hard negotiations to form a government in a polarised and emotionally-charged political landscape
Swedes vote on Sunday in an election pitting the incumbent centre-left Social Democrats against a right-wing bloc that has embraced the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats in a bid to win back power after eight years in opposition.
With steadily growing numbers of shootings unnerving voters, campaigning has seen parties battle to be the toughest on gang crime, while surging inflation and the energy crisis in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine have increasingly taken centre stage.
Law and order is home turf for the right, but gathering economic storm clouds as households and companies face sky-high power prices may boost Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, seen as a safe pair of hands and more popular than her own party.
“My clear message is: during the pandemic we supported Swedish companies and households. I will act in the exact same way again if I get your renewed confidence,” she said this week in one of the final debates ahead of the vote.
Andersson was finance minister for many years before becoming Sweden’s first female prime minister a year ago. Her main rival is Moderates’ leader Ulf Kristersson, who sees himself as the only one who can unite the right and unseat her.
Kristersson has spent years deepening ties with the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party with white supremacists among its founders. Initially shunned by all the other parties, the Sweden Democrats are now increasingly part of the mainstream right.