Sweden’s far-right, pushing a tough anti-immigration platform, made gains at the polls on September 9. In fact, the country’s centre-left and centre-right blocs emerged neck-and-neck, leaving the far-right Sweden Democrats to take third place.
As reported by Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster, the parliamentary election was one of Sweden’s most important because the the far-right, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats — who rose from the white supremacist and neo-Nazi fringe — were expected to gain significant strength and change the landscape of Swedish politics.
“Voters made the Social Democrats Sweden’s biggest party,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. “We need a cross-bloc cooperation.” He said he would stay in his post for the next fortnight until the new parliament opens.”
Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency noted that the election will add to concerns in Brussels as the European Union enters campaign mode ahead of the European Parliament election in May, which could give more voice to eurosceptic groups and thwart efforts at closer EU integration.
