Sweden heads to the polls: What’s at stake in the knife-edge election?

Stockholm, Sweden – On Sunday, Swedes will vote in a knife-edge general election that could see it either usher in a left-wing coalition or take a step even further to the right and welcome the Sweden Democrats , a party with neo-Nazi roots, into government for the first time.

Once a political pariah, the party has become the greatest force on the right and has already helped shape government policy from beyond the cabinet. Now, Moderate Party leader and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wants to bring it formally into power.

Opposing them is a centre-left bloc led by Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson, which has been leading in the polls, although the gap has been narrowing in recent weeks.

Sweden’s four left-bloc parties now have support of between 49.3 and 50.8 percent, according to the surveys conducted by the Ipsos, Demoskop and Indikator Opinion polling firms, while support for the coalition government and the Sweden Democrats stands at 47.6 to 49 percent, according to polls released by Swedish Radio and dailies Aftonbladet and DN.

Sunday, however, is the official election day when polling stations will open at 8am (06:00 GMT) and close at 8pm (18:00 GMT).

Swedes are voting in three elections on the same day: one for members of the national parliament, one for the regional council and one for the municipal council.

On the right are the governing Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, as well as the Sweden Democrats, who have propped up the government from outside since all four parties signed an agreement in 2022.

On the left are the Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Greens, with the Centre Party a possible fourth.