Swedish Election Could See Anti-Immigration Populists Sweden Democrats in Government
Rachel RobertsUpdated 53 minutes Ago3 Mins read
Sweden’s national election on Sunday could see the nationalist Sweden Democrats in government for the first time after the conservative prime minister seeking reelection said he would work with the populist party.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who leads the center-right Moderate Party, is seeking a second four-year term at the helm of the European Union nation that is also NATO’s newest member state.
Kristersson’s goal after this election is “to make Sweden great again,” he told AFP, echoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s famous slogan.
More than 8 million citizens in the nation of about 10.6 million people are eligible to vote in the election for the 349-seat parliament in Stockholm, the Riksdag. It is not a presidential election, and it is the elected lawmakers who choose the prime minister.
Since 2022, Kristersson has led a three-party, center-right coalition, which relies on outside support from the Sweden Democrats for a parliamentary majority.
Previously Kept Out of Government
The Sweden Democrats
won
20.5 percent of the vote in 2022, becoming the biggest party on the right, but were kept out of government by the other right-bloc parties, which instead formed a three-party coalition and relied on the Sweden Democrats for parliamentary support.
If the right-leaning coalition is reelected, the Sweden Democrats are expected to be given ministerial jobs in government for the first time. Swedish media Aftonbladet reported in November 2024 that Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson threatened to “bring down” a future right-bloc government which does not include them.
The Scandinavian country has two major political blocs: one with four parties on the right and another with four parties on the left.
This means the question which dominates elections is not so much which party wins as which of the two can put together a majority. Individual parties need to secure at least 4 percent of the vote to win parliamentary seats.
The leftist candidate is Kristersson’s predecessor, Magdalena Andersson, who served as prime minister for less than a year, from November 2021 until the left
lost
power to the right-leaning coalition in October 2022.
Sweden’s Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson gives a speech in Stockholm on Sept. 5, 2026. Jonathan Näckstrand/TT via AP
Blocs and Coalitions
Andersson is again bidding to become prime minister for the center-left Social Democrats, a party which has led the majority of Swedish governments since World War II.
If the left bloc wins, securing sufficient parliamentary support for Andersson could prove complicated because of differences between the parties.
The Social Democrats remain Sweden’s biggest single party with support between 27.4 and 29.7 percent, down from 30.3 percent in the 2022 vote, the latest polls show.
Kristersson announced in April that his Moderate party would allow the Sweden Democrats into government if the right bloc achieves a majority—although he would remain prime minister, even if the Sweden Democrats are the bigger party in parliament.
The Sweden Democrats are frequently described as “far-right” by those on the left and in the media, although the party has moved more toward the political mainstream in recent years, with widespread concern over
immigration
levels and
crime
rates seeing its fortunes at the polls rising rapidly.
The party was founded in the 1980s by people who had been active in extremist groups, including some with neo-Nazi links. Under Akesson, who has led the party since 2005, they toned down their rhetoric, expelled members who openly expressed racist views, and began to broaden their appeal.
Recent Policy Changes
After decades of post-World War II neutrality and centuries of broader nonalignment with major powers, Sweden joined NATO in March 2024 as the trans-Atlantic military alliance’s 32nd member.
The move to join was initiated by Andersson’s government after the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, and completed under Kristersson.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during a press conference in Rome on Feb. 26, 2025. Reuters/Remo Casilli
During his premiership, Kristersson, 62, has also abolished permanent residency for those claiming asylum and ramped up expulsions of illegal immigrants.
His administration was forced to drop a bill to lock up the most violent 13-year-old criminals,
settling
for those one year older, but has introduced stiffer sentencing and expanded police powers.
As head of the Moderates’ youth wing, Kristersson advocated for open borders in a country once regarded as ultra-liberal, before mass immigration through asylum, beginning around 2015, dramatically altered the social fabric of Sweden and the priorities of many voters.
When Kristersson took over as party leader in 2017, the center right was deeply divided over whether to work with the Sweden Democrats, with no other apparent route back to power.
Kristersson opted for pragmatism, paving the way for a center-right victory in 2022 and four years of stable government.
Polls show the left and right blocs in the country running neck and neck, although the latest ones show a slight lead for the left bloc.
If Swedes elect the right bloc, the Sweden Democrats could get more votes than the Moderates. In this case, Kristersson could still continue as prime minister, but his authority is expected to weaken.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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