Sweden’s Social Democrats won their first election for 12 years, but fell short of a parliamentary majority, as far-right parties showed strong gains in the country’s general election on Sunday.
The leader of Sweden's centre-left Social Democrats Stefan Lofven returned to power, but with no overall majority. Alongside the Greens and Left, the centre-left bloc gained 43.7% of the vote, ahead of 39.3% for Fredrik Reinfeldt's Moderate Party.
The far-right Sweden Democrats though, an anti-immigration party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement, were at 13%, becoming the third biggest party in the country.
Sweden Democrat leader Jimme Akesson celebrated his party’s success, telling reporters,
"You can't avoid taking us into account if you want to run the country… We are holding the absolute balance of power now."
Lofven though insisted he would not make a pact with the far-right party, saying, "We will make sure they don't get that kingmaker role."
Swedish finance minister, Anders Borg, commented that, "It is clear from a broader perspective that this is difficult for Sweden.”
"We go from having one of Europe's strongest governments to having a weak government power with considerable uncertainty about economic policy."
Also see our earlier post: Eurosceptics and far right make gains across Europe (26 May 2014)