Sweden election race tightens as Liberals make parliament threshold, poll shows

STOCKHOLM, Sept 7 - Sweden's ruling right-wing bloc has closed in further on the centre-left opposition ahead of Sunday's general election, according to a fresh opinion poll by Novus that shows the Liberals party making parliament's 4% threshold for the first time in years.While earlier polls have pointed to near-certain victory for the opposition headed by Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson, the latest surveys show that the government of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, in office since 2022, may still win.The Novus poll, published on Monday by commercial broadcaster TV4, indicated 50.3% backing for the four centre-left parties while the three-party government and its support party, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, stood at 47.9%.The gap between the blocs was 0.2 percentage points smaller than in Novus' previous poll.Junior coalition party the Liberals rose to 4.3% from 3.3%, clearing the threshold needed to win seats and easing fears the party could lose its 16 seats and the coalition its majority.Three weeks ago the centre-left held a lead of 10 percentage points in a poll by a different agency, which political scientists at the time said was a near-insurmountable gap to bridge before election day.Novus polled 2,888 voters between September 1 and September 5. REUTERS