+34
Exit polls suggest change of government to be led by Social Democrats
Sweden's Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson and her husband Richard Friberg cast their vote. Photograph: Stefan Jerrevang/AFP via Getty Imagesappears headed for a change of government after post-general election exit polls showed a centre-left camp led by the Social Democrats with a parliamentary majority.
The centre-left finished with 51.3 per cent of the vote, or 183 seats, according to an exit poll for SVT public television, suggesting Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson is headed back to power. After polls closed at 8pm, the same SVT poll indicated 46.8 per cent support, or 166 seats, for the centre-right camp led by outgoing prime minister Ulf Kristersson.
Despite the gap of 4.5 percentage points, SVT election analysts urged caution, acknowledging an exit poll survey four years ago that indicated a Social Democrats victory, only for the result to flip as the night wore on.
‘Hey, it’s not that hard to grow your own spuds’: how Portnoo in Donegal spawned a social media star farmer If the Sunday night exit survey of 13,709 voters translates into final results, it would mean Swedish voters have rejected a taboo-shattering plan by Ulf Kristersson to bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into power after it supported his government from the opposition benches. Kristersson’s Moderates finished in second place on 18 per cent in the exit poll, after losing one point.
Andersson and her Social Democrats lost two percentage points in the exit poll to finish on 28.4 per cent – still retaining its first place in the poll. Tobias Baudin, Social Democratic Party secretary general, said that the exit poll, if reflective of the final result, delivered “three pieces of good news”.
“Sweden will get a new government, a new direction and get Magdalena Andersson as prime minister,” he said. Andersson served as Sweden’s first woman prime minister for a year until October 2022. If returned to power now, she has promised to maintain the radical correction in migration and asylum policy, once Europe’s most liberal and now among its most stringent.
In addition she has promised to continue an energetic pushback against gangland violence, but add measures to tackle the roots of organised crime. While all bigger parties lost support, the big loser of the evening was the far-right populist Sweden Democrats . It lost three percentage points in the initial exit poll to slip into third on 17.2 per cent, though party officials remained confident it would return to second place after the postal vote was counted.
Similarly, Tobias Tobé, secretary general of the Moderates, said his party was confident the final result could swing towards the outgoing coalition. Even if Andersson secures a majority, Tobé said that “she will have a difficult time finding a working coalition”, in a nod to stronger smaller leftist parties. Both the Left and the Greens gained support to eight and seven per cent respectively and have promised to be demanding partners in any coalition talks – and in office.
Trump departs Ireland after successful visitAnnalise Murphy: ‘Juliette’s the one I think about constantly. I can’t imagine life without her now’Trump departs Ireland following two-day visit
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'I was upset and gutted, but I was grateful': Noel Hunt on Reading exit and finding a new purposeFormer Ireland international Noel Hunt reflects on his departure from Reading, where he served as head coach for less than a year. He discusses the challenges of the football industry, his post-exit experiences, and his current role as an international lead coach for Ireland's youth teams.
Read more »
Swedish Election Highlights Shift from Refugee‑Friendly Haven to Asylum HardlinerThe day‑of‑the‑polls in Sweden brings a stark reassessment of the country's humanitarian past as new hard‑line migration policies come under intense public scrutiny, illustrated by the plight of Ghanaian asylum seeker Asiamah, who now languishes in detention as Sweden tightens its doors.
Read more »
Murder most social: How to organise your own Traitors weekendThe Traitors has fast become one of the world’s hottest gameshow formats. I gathered 20 friends in a big house to recreate the drama
Read more »
EU to curb teenage access to social media but stop short of outright banMove comes amid concern Big Tech cannot be trusted to protect children from harmful content
Read more »