Swedish PM Magdalena steps down after Right-Wing parties win election

• Magdalena Andersson’s center-left bloc defeated by right-wing bloc, 176 seats to 173, with 99% of votes counted.
• Moderate Party expected to form a government. Andersson was the Nordic country’s first female prime minister when she took office last year.
• The Sweden Democrats are a party that arose from a neo-Nazi movement. It has gradually grown stronger while attempting to improve its image.

Sweden’s prime minister Magdalena Andersson resigned After her government was defeated in Sunday’s election.

Magdalena’s center-left bloc was defeated by a right-wing bloc, 176 seats to 173, with 99% of the votes counted.

Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the Moderate Party, is now expected to form a government.

The Sweden Democrats, a far-right party that has campaigned against rising gang shootings, are among his right-wing allies.

It is a major setback for Andersson’s Social Democrats, who gained votes over the previous election and remain Sweden’s largest party.

However, in Sweden, bloc politics usually determines who wins power, and the right bloc has a razor-thin majority.

The final result will be confirmed after a recount, as is standard procedure in elections.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Ms Andersson admitted defeat. On Thursday, she formally submitted her resignation.

“They have a one or two seat advantage in parliament,” she explained. “It’s a slim majority, but it’s a majority nonetheless.”

Gangs, immigration, and integration issues, as well as skyrocketing electricity prices, dominated the contentious election campaign.

Ms Andersson was the Nordic country’s first female prime minister when she took office last year; she resigned on the first day, only to return soon after.

She was defeated by a four-party right-wing coalition comprised of the Sweden Democrats, Moderate Party, Christian Democrats, and Liberals.

It is a watershed moment in Swedish politics: the Sweden Democrats were once regarded as a pariah by political parties, but now command around 20% of the vote.

It promised to “make Sweden safe again” by increasing prison sentences and limiting immigration.

However, the party’s leader, Jimmie Akesson, will not become prime minister because he lacks the support of the other right-wing parties.

Instead, the Moderates’ leader, Ulf Kristersson, has stated that he will begin working to form a government.

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It is unclear whether Mr Kristersson’s government will be a coalition or will work informally with the Sweden Democrats. He has already met with the leaders of the Christian Democrats and Liberal parties, as well as nationalists, this week.

The Sweden Democrats are a party that arose from a neo-Nazi movement at the end of the 1980s and has gradually grown stronger while attempting to improve its image.

Although it has many right-wing policies, it is to the left of some other parties in the bloc on some economic issues, such as maintaining the current level of unemployment insurance.

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