Right-wing bloc wins narrow majority in Swedish election

A right-wing bloc that includes a nationalist anti-immigration party has won a narrow majority in Sweden’s parliament. 

Centre-left Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conceded defeat with 99.9 percent of the vote from the weekend elections counted on Wednesday. She said she would step down on Thursday.

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson declared victory for the four-party bloc.

He said his party would be “a constructive and driving force” in the work of rebuilding safety in Sweden. He said it was “time to put Sweden first.”

With almost all votes counted, the bloc that includes the Sweden Democrats – the country's second-largest party – won a thin majority in parliament. Though a few votes were outstanding they were not enough to sway the final outcome.

Prime Minister Andersson said that “the preliminary result is clear enough to draw a conclusion” that her centre-left forces had lost power.

Andersson became Sweden’s first female prime minister last year and led the country in its historic bid to join NATO following Russia’s attack against Ukraine.

Ulf Kristersson, the leader of Sweden’s third largest party, the Moderates, who’s considered to be the leading figure in the right-wing bloc and a possible PM, thanked voters for their trust. “Now we will get Sweden in order,” he wrote on Facebook.

“The Moderates and the other parties on my side have received the mandate for the change that we asked for. I am now starting the work of forming a new, effective government,” Kristersson said.

READ MORE: Sweden’s right-wing parties seem to win election

Tough stance on crime

The Sweden Democrats were long shunned by Swedes because the party’s founders included some neo-Nazis.

In recent years it has moved into the mainstream by expelling extremists, and gained support with a tough stance on crime and immigration amid a rise in shootings and other gang violence.

Its transformation was led by 43-year-old Akesson, who in his speech on Wednesday evening said it was time for a new chapter in Sweden.

“Now it will be enough with the failed Social Democratic policy that for eight years has continued to lead the country in the wrong direction,” Akesson said. 

“It is time to start rebuilding security, welfare and cohesion. It is time to put Sweden first. The Sweden Democrats will be a constructive and driving force in this work.”

The tally gave the right-wing bloc 176 seats in the 349-parliament, the Riksdag, and Andersson’s center-left bloc with 173 seats.

A majority in Sweden requires 175 seats.

READ MORE: Sweden votes in election marked by crime, energy crisis