Close race in Sweden as hard right eyes role in government

Sweden's left‑ and right‑wing blocs are engaged in a tight contest following Sunday’s general election, with incumbent Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stating he would offer positions to hard‑right allies should he remain in office. Recent polls show a narrow advantage for the left‑wing coalition, which is backing Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson to assume power. Kristersson has relied on the hard‑right Sweden Democrats (SD) for parliamentary support; the party traces its origins to neo‑Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s. National security, gang‑related crime and welfare spending dominate the campaign agenda, but the prospect of the anti‑immigration SD entering government could also shape the final result. Swedish politics traditionally features two major blocs – four parties on the right and four on the left – leading voters to expect coalition or minority administrations. More than 8 million citizens are eligible to cast ballots for the Riksdag. A Friday survey commissioned by the news agency Ekot placed the left‑wing bloc at 50.8 percent of the vote, compared with 47.6 percent for the right‑wing bloc, a margin of 3.2 percentage points. The centre‑left Social Democrats, which have pledged increased national spending, lead the individual party standings with 28.6 percent, while the Sweden Democrats trail at 18.3 percent according to the same Ekot poll. Other opinion surveys released on Friday also showed the left‑wing bloc ahead. The Social Democrats have headed Swedish governments regularly since World War II and have been the country’s dominant political force for much of the last century. In stark contrast, the Sweden Democrats, founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s, were ostracised by mainstream parties for decades.