Swedish PM Kristersson Resigns After Narrow Election Loss — SkimNews
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- Ulf Kristersson resigned on Thursday, posting on X that he was requesting to be "relieved of the office of prime minister" after preliminary results showed his right-wing bloc trailing the centre-left opposition by about 50,000 votes in a country of roughly 10 million
- Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats look set to win 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag versus 173 for the right-wing bloc, though results await formal certification expected to finalize this weekend
- The Sweden Democrats, the anti-immigration party Kristersson had promised cabinet seats if he won, lost support for the first time since entering parliament in 2010, falling three percentage points versus 2022
- Andersson has opened coalition talks with the Left Party, Centre Party, and Green Party, though Kristersson warned "complicated" conditions—including tax policy differences—could drag out formation; Sweden's 2022 government took 37 days to form and the 2018 one took 134
- The Social Democrats have regularly led Swedish governments since World War Two and dominated Swedish politics for much of the last century, framing Andersson's expected return as a restoration of the country's traditional ruling force
Why it matters: The Sweden Democrats' three-point drop marks their first parliamentary setback since 2010, weakening the far right's leverage just as Kristersson had vowed to bring them into cabinet. Andersson's narrow 176-173 seat edge forces a four-party left coalition that must reconcile tax policy before any government can take shape.
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