Far-Right Sweden Democrats poised to play huge part in Sweden's next government | DW News

In an election sweep that came as a shock to some, the right-wing Sweden Democrats are now poised to be part of the governing coalition. As Europe awaits Swedish election results that balance on a knife's edge, some are asking: How did this happen? In Sweden, a bastion of tolerance, a nationalist and anti-immigrant party is on the cusp of joining a right-wing coalition in government. A look at the party's origins and trajectory provides some answers. What is the current state of election results? On Sunday, Sweden held nationwide elections for its legislature, the Riksdag. Although 99.9% of the vote has now been counted, a winner has not yet been officially declared.

Exit polls Sunday night initially indicated victory for the Social Democrats' center-left coalition, which has been in power since 2014. But as vote-counting progressed, the right-wing bloc consisting of the Liberals, Christian Democrats, Moderates and Sweden Democrats is on track to win, currently with 49.5% of the vote. The left-wing coalition has 48.8% of the vote. Social Democrat Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has already conceded defeat. While final results are expected at any moment, the Social Democrats have so far received the largest percentage of votes at 30.3%. Currently, the Sweden Democrats are the second-strongest party, gaining 20.5% of the vote in their best-ever election performance. That makes them the biggest party on the right, in front of the Moderates who came as a close third with 19.1%.

The cliffhanger election is not expected to be resolved until all postal and absentee ballots are counted.

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