STOCKHOLM (Reuters) --
Sweden’s right bloc appeared in pole position on Monday to form a government for the first time in nearly a decade, helped by a wave of voter anger over gang violence which could give an anti-immigration populist party a share in power for the first time.
Sunday’s national election remained too close to call on Monday with about 5% of electoral districts yet to be counted, but early results gave right-wing parties 175 of the 349 seats in the Riksdag, one more than the left bloc.
Overseas postal ballots were still to be counted and while they have historically tended to favor the right, this means a full preliminary result is not due until Wednesday. All votes are then counted again to provide a final tally.
If the results are confirmed, Sweden, which has long prided itself on being a bastion of tolerance, will become less open to immigrants even as the Ukraine war forces people to flee and climate change is pushing many to leave Africa.
Political observers say Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson is likely to become prime minister in a minority government supported by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats who are poised to become the largest party on the right and will have a big say on the new administration’s program.
What’s unlikely to change is Sweden’s path towards NATO membership as well as the country’s plans to boost defense spending.
Social Democrat Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who has yet to concede the election, pledged in March to increase the military budget to 2% of gross domestic product following what Moscow calls its “special operation” in Ukraine.
Preliminary results have shown the Sweden Democrats with 20.6% of the vote, up from 17.5% at the last election.
The party, which has white supremacists among their founders, is expected to stay formally in opposition, with many voters and politicians across the political spectrum uncomfortable with seeing it in government. However, their impact will still be felt.
“It is the Sweden Democrats who have driven the right-wing bloc along, both in terms of shaping the political content and in attracting voters to the constellation,” the independent liberal newspaper Goteborgsposten wrote. “For Sweden, a new political era awaits.”