Radio Sweden

Swedish politicians blaming new citizens for election loss

A number of politicians from Sweden's right-wing parties are claiming that if they end up losing the election, the deciding factor will have been votes from Swedes with a migrant background. Kent Ekeroth, the Sweden Democrats' leading candidate in Dalarna, referred to voters granted citizenship in recent years as "voting fodder", telling local radio there that ”it's not good if Swedes have given up power over their own country to people who got citizenship handed to them in breakfast cereal boxes." The comments have triggered a debate in Swedish media. "I think that it's both blatantly racist and deeply undemocratic, to be honest," says Isobel Hadley-Kamptz, opinion writer with the independent liberal newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

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Radio Sweden

Swedish election result close — what happens next?

The final votes from the Swedish election are being counted today and a preliminary result will be presented tomorrow Thursday. After that, there are different routes ahead to get a new government in place, but the Speaker of Parliament plays a crucial role. Take a listen to find out about the process ahead.

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Radio Sweden

Record number of TBE cases — but tick season's not over yet

Sweden's seen a record number of viral TBE infections this year, with figures from the Public Health Agency showing 448 cases so far. But it's not known for certain what's behind the rise, with the number of ticks in the environment and the weather both playing a role, news agency TT reports. TBE viral infections spread to the brain or the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord in about a third of all cases, and can lead to major health issues.

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Radio Sweden

Sweden Democrat who took a 'time out' after Russia controversy back to work soon

Gustav Gellerbrant, a top Sweden Democrat official working in the government offices, will soon return to work according to the party. Gellerbrant took a 'time out' in the run-up to the election after an investigation by newspaper Expo, which found that his live-in partner had among things shared pro-Russian propaganda on social media. The Sweden Democrats write that there's no reason to challenge the government offices assessment of Gellerbrant — but declined to answer whether or not he passed the new security assessment carried out on him.

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Radio Sweden

Internal criticism over Social Democrats' campaign strategy

Leading figures in the Social Democrats warned against focusing on the Sweden Democrats during the campaign, instead of promoting their own policies. That's according to Swedish Radio News's sources, who say promises of cheaper dental care for example were overshadowed by the party's "12 Sweden Democrat ministers" warning. The Social Democrats' post-election analysis back in 2022 raised the same issue, and also proposed the party focus on its own policies.

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Radio Sweden

Exit poll: Tactical votes got Sweden's Liberals over the 4% threshold

Results from SVT's exit poll show that tactical votes are what pushed the Liberals over the 4% threshold needed for seats in Sweden's parliament. Many of their voters came from the Moderates, with just a third of people who voted for the Liberals at the last election in 2022 doing so again this time around. And those who voted for the Liberals on Sunday only decided to do so at the last minute, according to election researcher Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson.

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Radio Sweden

Data analyst: Unlikely that Kristersson will win from remaining votes

The opposition parties are set to win the election. Even though the race is extremely tight and votes remain to be counted, it's very unlikely that the parties to the right will regain the lead, according to mathematician Gustav Karreskog Rehbinder. "Not impossible, but unlikely," he tells Radio Sweden. Listen here to the founder and chief executive of the forecasting firm used by public broadcaster SVT on election night.

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Radio Sweden

Voters on tight Swedish election: 'It will take some time before we know'

What do the voters make of the election result so far - and what kind of government would they like to see come out of it? Radio Sweden spoke to people at Stockholm central station and met both those who were happy, and those who were more worried, about the outcome of the election. "I think it would be wise if we could find a better discussion climate around the middle," said Urban Nyblom.

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Radio Sweden

Crime scene investigation after Fagersta school attack now complete

Police have now finished their investigation at the site of last month's deadly sword attack at a school in Fagersta in central Sweden. Personal belongings will now be handed back to staff and students, but classes will not be held at the school for the time being. Fagersta municipality's head of schools Johannes Håll tells Swedish Radio's local P4 Västmanland channel it would be emotionally difficult for students to return straight away.

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Radio Sweden

Parties prepare to negotiate as election vote count continues

Based on the preliminary election results, the centre-left opposition block appear set to secure a majority in the Riksdag, although the vote count continues. However, there are several "red lines" between the Left Party and the Centre Party in the opposition block that could complicate the formation of a government. Meanwhile the governing parties and the Sweden Democrats on the right met for talks at the Prime Minister's official residence on Monday evening.

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Radio Sweden

Left Party support rises in Sweden's 'vulnerable areas'

The preliminary election results show that support for the Left Party has risen considerably in Sweden's so-called 'vulnerable areas', neighbourhoods considered socioeconomically deprived. The party links its success there to a national canvassing campaign. Niklas Lundström, the party's group leader in Norrköping, tells Swedish Radio they knocked on 11,000 doors in that city alone. Voter Talal Kabani lives in Norrköping and voted for the Left Party. He says labour market conditions for people with a migrant background was an important issue for him.

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Radio Sweden

Swedish election results delayed — not expected until Thursday

Sweden's preliminary election results have been delayed further, and now aren't expected to be ready until Thursday. The Swedish Election Authority says a large number of votes from people that voted elsewhere than their own polling station on election day, and votes from Swedes living abroad are to blame. Those votes are always counted on the Wednesday after the election, and given the incredibly close result on Sunday they could decide the final outcome.

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Radio Sweden

Sweden sees no major cyber or foreign influence attacks on election

Swedish authorities say there were no major cyberattacks or coordinated foreign influence campaigns against the election. Before the vote, there had been concerns that foreign powers might try to interfere. But the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency says it has not seen any large-scale coordinated activity linked to the election, news agency TT reports.

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Radio Sweden

SD in hot water over text message campaign — aimed at people with non-Swedish names

More than 1,000 complaints have been filed with the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection over a text message campaign the Sweden Democrats launched ahead of Sunday's election. The message said that the party and the opposition Social Democrats both agree on closing Muslim free schools. Newspaper Sydsvenskan, citing the Sweden Democrats' head of press, writes that the campaign targeted people with names that aren't included in the Swedish name-day calendar — which usually means it's a name that's not traditionally Swedish.

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Radio Sweden

County Administrative Boards re-counting ballots to verify election results

The Swedish election is very tight and still too close to call. In the Swedish election system, the municipalities count the votes first, and then hand them over to the county administrative boards who re-count them. In Nacka, just outside of Stockholm, the votes from the Stockholm area are being re-counted and verified. Amir Hashemi Nick, one of the vote counters, thinks the tight election result makes the job feel even more important.

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Radio Sweden

Analysis: 'Unlikely' that Moderates could attract Centre Party to right-wing government

The votes are still being counted, and which parties could make up the next future government is still highly uncertain, according to Swedish Radio's political commentator Helena Gissén. If the current result holds, the Centre Party could end up with a key role in the negotiations, and both Magdalena Andersson, leader of the Social Democrats and Ulf Kristersson, leader of the conservative Moderates have expressed interest in working with them. But the Centre Party's opposition to the Sweden Democrats is their most important standpoint, and it is hard to believe that the party would accept a solution that relies on their support to form a government, Gissén says.

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Radio Sweden

No change of power locally in Sweden's three biggest cities

Preliminary results from the local elections suggest power may remain with the centre-left parties in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. In Stockholm, the Social Democrats lost quite a few seats, but the Green Party saw their best results in over ten years, which boosts the current council leadership's chances to stay in charge of the capital. In the regional elections for the three big-city regions, the centre-left look like they will remain in power in the Stockholm region, while the centre-right may keep hold of the lead in Skåne region with the support of the Sweden Democrats. In Västra Götaland, which includes Gothenburg, it looks like the Centre Party could tip the balance of power either to the left or the right.

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Radio Sweden

Major party leaders signal need for broad co-operation after election

With the Swedish election result still too close to call, no side has yet declared themselves as winners. The two main candidates to become Sweden's next prime minister, Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats and Ulf Kristersson of the conservative Moderates spoke on election night about the need for broad and possible new political constellations. At the same time, several of the smaller parties saw themselves as winners, as it is clear they have grown since the last election.

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Radio Sweden

Voter turnout rises sharply in suburbs of Sweden’s major cities

There were also local and regional elections in Sweden yesterday, and voter turnout in the municipal election has risen sharply in areas of Gothenburg, Stockholm and Malmö that have traditionally had low participation, according to a review of election results by P4 Gothenburg. As of Monday morning, only ten electoral districts in total had turnout below 50 percent. In the previous election, that figure was 67 districts. In most of the districts with the lowest turnout, the Left Party and the Social Democrats have made strong gains, P4 Gothenburg reports.

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Radio Sweden

Political scientist: We might have a Swedish government by Christmas

In the wake of Swedish parliamentary elections, the results are still too close to call. The Social Democrats, the Center Party, the Left Party and the Green Party currently have a narrow lead. Jonas Hinnfors, professor emeritus at the Department for Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, thinks the results are surprising in many regards. He thinks there are difficult discussions ahead for the opposition bloc that have the upper hand in terms of seats as things stand right now.

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