Nearly a fifth of Swedish voters have backed the far-right Sweden Democrats in the country’s general election but the anti-immigration group lags behind the ruling party, an exit poll suggests.
The poll had the nationalist Sweden Democrats on 19.2 per cent support but found the ruling Social Democrats gained the backing of more than a quarter – 26.2 per cent – of the public.
If the exit poll results carry over to the official count, the Sweden Democrats would be the second-largest party in parliament.
National public broadcaster SVT’s exit poll showed Jimmie Akesson‘s far-right group, which has white supremacist roots, making slight gains compared with expectations amid apparent deadlock between the two largest coalitions.
Prime minister Stefan Lovfen and his left-leaning parliamentary allies including the Greens garnered a total 39.4 per cent of votes, SVT’s exit poll suggested, while the centre-right alliance won 39.6 per cent, a tiny lead.
However, a separate voter poll by the TV4 network gave the Sweden Democrats markedly less support, at 16.3 per cent. TV4 found the Social Democrats had 25.4 per cent of the vote, the Moderates 18.4 per cent and the Greens 5.8 per cent.
That analysis suggested the worst-ever showing for the Social Democrats, though it would mean Mr Lovfen’s parliamentary coalition had won 41 per cent of votes compared to 40.1 per cent for the right-leaning group.
A preliminary vote count suggested the Sweden Democrats would eventually place third, with a 17.9 per cent share at just over the mid-way point of the count. The ruling party had 28.1 per cent, the election commission said.
The process of forming a stable government may take weeks and, potentially, end in failure.
Acrimony between the two main political blocs has defined Swedish politics for decades, and the rise of the Sweden Democrats – considered pariahs in parliament - has complicated the political landscape. Both blocs have said they will not accept the party in their groupings.
Jan Bjorklund, the leader of the centrist Liberal Party, said he wanted a centre-right government but ruled out working with the Sweden Democrats.
In 2015, the Swedish government allowed 163,000 migrants into the country with a population of 10 million.
The number was far lower than the asylum-seekers Germany accepted that year, but the highest per capita of any European nation.
Before the election, promising prospects for the Sweden Democrats had many Swedes worried about an erosion of the humanitarian values that have long been a foundation of their country’s identity.
The Sweden Democrats have tried to soften their white supremacist image while breaking down taboos on what Swedes could say openly about immigration and integration without being shunned as racists.
During a heated debate among party leaders on Friday, Mr Akesson caused a stir by blaming migrants for the difficulties they often have in finding employment and not adjusting to Swedish life.
SVT afterwards called his remarks degrading and against the democratic mandate of public broadcasting.
Mr Akesson responded that state television should not take sides, and later announced that he would not take part in any of SVT’s election programmes today.
At a rally on Saturday, he strongly criticised Mr Lofven’s government for “prioritising” the cause of immigrants over the needs of citizens.
Additional reporting by agencies
