The conservative Ulf Kristersson has agreed on a government basis in Sweden with several parties, including the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. His moderates will join the Christian Democrats and the Liberals in forming a government that will work closely with the Sweden Democrats in parliament, Kristersson announced at a press conference in Stockholm today.
Shortly thereafter, he wanted to report to Parliament President Andreas Norlén. It is expected that Norlén will then schedule a parliamentary vote on Kristersson as the new prime minister. This should then take place on Monday.
The conservative-right party bloc around Kristersson’s moderates and the extremely strong Sweden Democrats achieved a narrow majority of 176 of the 349 seats in the Swedish parliamentary elections on September 11. After eight years under social democratic leadership, the signs in Sweden were pointing to a change of government.
However, it was long unclear whether moderates, Christian Democrats and liberals could agree on a government basis with the Sweden Democrats. Without the right-wing populists, who achieved record results in the election and replaced the moderates as the second strongest force for the first time, the three parties would not be able to achieve their own majority. Minority governments are not uncommon in Scandinavia – what is new, however, is that such a constellation in Sweden will count on the support of right-wing populists.
