Swedish PM resigns after election defeat

STOCKHOLM — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced his resignation on Thursday after preliminary results showed his right-wing bloc lost its parliamentary majority in the general election, while the center-left opposition secured a narrow majority.

Results released by the Swedish Election Authority showed that the four opposition parties received 49.6 percent of the vote and secured 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament, one more than the 175 needed for a majority. Kristersson's right-wing bloc received 48.8 percent of the vote and won 173 seats, with all 6,626 electoral districts counted.

"The Speaker will now lead the next steps toward forming a new government. To allow that process to begin immediately, I hereby request to be relieved of my duties as prime minister," Kristersson said in a statement posted on X.

The focus now shifts to Andersson's talks with the four opposition parties on forming a government. The grouping brings together the Social Democrats, the Left Party, the Green Party and the Centre Party.

The Social Democrats remained the largest party, receiving 28 percent of the vote and securing 99 seats. Party leader Magdalena Andersson, a former prime minister who lost the post in 2022, now has a chance to regain the job but faces a complicated task in turning the election result into a government.

Andersson said the Swedish people had voted for a "new direction" for the country, for unity and against division, Swedish news agency TT reported.

Reaching a governing arrangement could prove difficult given the parties' significant policy differences. The Centre Party, which aligned with the opposition because it does not want to govern with the Sweden Democrats, also does not want to enter government with the Left Party.

Swedish Television domestic political commentator Mats Knutson cited taxation, sick-pay deductions and nuclear power as key areas of disagreement, while noting that compromises could be reached on other issues.

Initially uncertain lead

The two blocs were separated by around 40,000 votes in the country of about 10.6 million people. The opposition's narrow lead was initially uncertain because some early votes had not arrived at polling stations by election day, including overseas ballots, but was confirmed after those votes were counted.

Kristersson has led Sweden with a three-party, center-right coalition. Its parliamentary majority relied on outside support from the Sweden Democrats, an anti-immigration party with far-right roots that has moved toward the political mainstream.

The Sweden Democrats won 62 seats, 11 fewer than in the last parliament, falling behind Kristersson's Moderates to become the third-largest party. Kristersson had held out the prospect of Cabinet seats for the Sweden Democrats if the governing bloc won the election.

The process of forming a government could take weeks. After the 2022 election, it took 37 days to form a government. If Andersson fails to form one, Kristersson could seek to build a majority of his own.

At the same time, there is broad political consensus in Sweden on several major issues, including support for Ukraine and the decision to join NATO. Sweden became NATO's 32nd member in 2024.

XINHUA-AGENCIES