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ReutersThe left-wing political bloc in Sweden is leading the race to form a new government, according to exit polls from Sunday’s general election.
The four-party bloc was projected to get 51.3% of votes against 46.8% for the right, public broadcaster SVT and TV4 said.
If confimed, it will mean the Social Democrats’ leader Magdalena Andersson will be Sweden’s new prime minister – a job she held from 2021 to 2022.
Current conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has promised cabinet jobs for hard-right allies if he stays in charge.
Kristersson has been supported in government by the hard-right Sweden Democrats (SD), which have neo-Nazi roots.
Exit polls suggested the party which entered parliament in 2010 would lose support for the first time.
Sweden has two major political blocs featuring four parties on the right and four on the left – meaning coalition and minority governments are relatively common.
Andersson’s party, the Social Democrats, have been a major force in Swedish politics since the end of World War Two.
But SD – founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s – had been shunned for years until 2022 when it became the country’s second largest party after campaigning on violent crime and immigration.
After casting her vote on Sunday, Andersson laid out the choice facing the Swedish public: “Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats, something that has never happened in Sweden before? Or should we have a government led by me, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of co-operation?”
Kristersson, for his part, said it was important he and his alliance were able to continue their work.
“I think there is a genuine enthusiasm for us being able to continue our important work,” he said after casting his ballot in his home municipality of Strangnas.
National security, gang crime and welfare spending dominated the election campaign.
