# Swedish voters go to polls to choose a new parliament as hard right bids for role in government

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/swedish-voters-go-to-polls-to-choose-a-new-parliament-as-hard-right-bids-for-role-in-government/
- Published: 2026-09-13T06:52:53+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-13T07:15:32+00:00
- Original publisher: The Independent (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/stockholm-jimmie-akesson-swedish-cabinet-nato-b3049291.html
- Topics: Elections, Government, Politics

## Key points

- Sweden votes Sunday on whether Kristersson or Andersson leads next
- Hard-right Sweden Democrats could win Cabinet seats for first time
- Result hinges on which four-party bloc secures a majority

## Summary

Voters in Sweden go to the polls on Sunday in an election that will decide whether centre-right Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wins a second term, with the possibility that the hard-right Sweden Democrats gain Cabinet posts for the first time, or whether the centre-left Social Democrats return to power under former prime minister Magdalena Andersson. The vote matters beyond Sweden's borders, coming amid wider gains for the populist right across Europe, and will shape the direction of an EU member state that is also NATO's newest addition.

Kristersson has governed since 2022 with a three-party coalition propped up by outside support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party with far-right roots that has moderated under leader Jimmie Åkesson since 2005; he has said they could enter government formally if the right retains its majority, while he would stay prime minister regardless. The Sweden Democrats took 20.5% of the vote in 2022, making them the largest party on the right, and analysts say the campaign has focused less on policy than on which of the two main blocs, four parties on the right versus four on the left, can secure a majority. More than 8 million of Sweden's roughly 10.6 million people are eligible to vote for the 349-seat Riksdag, with first preliminary results expected around 9pm local time (1900 GMT).

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.