Left bloc ekes out razor-thin win in Sweden

The far right failed to surge in a protracted vote count — but the left doesn't have a clear path to governing.MALMÖ, Sweden (CN) — A new government is brewing in Sweden, with opposition leader and head of the left-wing Social Democrats Magdalena Andersson inviting other leftist parties to talks on Thursday.Final parliamentary election results — including overseas and early votes that had to be tallied for days after Sunday’s tight race — show the left flank taking 176 seats, ahead of the ruling center-right coalition’s 173.“The Swedish people have voted for a new direction for our country, voted for cohesion and against division,” said Andersson in a Social Democrats YouTube video Thursday.The Social Democrats, with 28% of the vote, are Sweden’s largest party — a position it has held for over a century. But its share dropped 2.2 points from 2022, delivering one of the party’s worst results in modern history. Now they will be tasked with forming a governing coalition, which will choose a prime minister.Election workers count early votes and overseas votes in Stockholm City Hall, in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)The left’s victory comes as right-wing parties are gaining momentum across Europe. The Nordic country, long hailed as a humanitarian champion for its once-lax approach to immigration and integration, has veered sharply right in the past four years.Outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson spent the last term tightening immigration and criminal sentencing, with an eye on countering violence and gang activity.Kristersson’s center-right Moderates came in second overall, winning 19.8% of the vote. They are backed by the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, who fell short with 17.5%, a 3.1 percentage point drop from the party’s best result ever in 2022.With Andersson at the helm, the Social Democrats have not strongly opposed the government’s tough approach to immigration and crime.The center-left party is also open to nuclear energy production, a topic that will create turmoil in negotiations, Alfred Arnborg, a Swedish analyst for the Copenhagen-based Think Tank EUROPA, told Courthouse News.Sweden’s Left Party, now the left bloc’s second biggest with 8.4%, favors solar and offshore wind energy production over nuclear reactors. With an open stance on immigration policies, the Left Party demands ministerial positions in a new government.Although Sweden’s Centre Party has announced its alignment with the left, it has publicly rejected giving the Left Party any cabinet positions.Should the Centre Party join with the right instead, it also wants to block the Sweden Democrats from its goal of taking ministerial posts.That opens an opportunity for an unconventional centrist coalition, depending on the left’s negotiations.“After all, the Social Democrats are quite close to several right-wing parties regarding their stance on migration and crime, for instance,” said Anders Sundell, senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg’s Department of Political Science, in an email to Courthouse News.“However, several key parties have also made clear statements to the contrary … . Therefore, to avoid accusations of betrayal, it is likely necessary to first thoroughly exhaust the possibilities of forming a red-green government,” he said, referring to the left and center-left parties.In neighboring Denmark, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s 2022 decision to form a centrist rather than left-bloc coalition continues to haunt her party.Jacob Gunderson, an associate senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg’s Department of Political Science, doesn’t foresee such a coalition in Sweden.“Such a government would be possible, but I would personally think it would be somewhat unlikely. Of course, there is the recent Danish example and a long tradition of coalitions that span the political center in places like Germany. But, it does not seem that those coalitions are particularly effective or well-liked by electorates once they get them,” Gunderson wrote in an email.Courthouse News correspondent Lasse Sørensen is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads