Following the results of the 2022 elections, the Moderate Coalition Party (M), the Christian Democrats (KD), and the Liberal Party (L) entered the government, but together they won only 103 of the 349 seats in the Riksdag, with 175 required. Because of this, the cabinet entered into partial cooperation with the “Sweden Democrats”, formalizing the agreements in the Tidö Agreement.
Under this arrangement, SD remained outside the cabinet, but in exchange for supporting the government it gained significant influence over the legislative process in the status of a “partner party”. Now this very format of cooperation may be expanded to include the far right in the government.
According to polls, the opposition Social Democratic Party (S) led by Magdalena Andersson is in the lead — it has 28.5%. But the chances of the Social Democrats and their partners securing a guaranteed majority in the Riksdag are still unclear.
In the latest Novus poll, the center-left parties, which in addition to the Social Democrats include the Left Party (V), the Green Party (MP), and the centrists, receive 50.7% against 48.1% for the right bloc. At the same time, the centrists refuse to cooperate with the left: on September 9, their leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist said in an interview with SVT that the participation of the Left Party in the government is out of the question.
Ringqvist called bringing in the Christian Democrats, whom she considers a “playable” party, a more reasonable option. But KD are not ready to leave Kristersson’s camp: on September 2, their leader Ebba Busch said she would not support a Social Democratic government unless new elections are held.
On the other flank, the ruling coalition openly says it is ready to take cooperation with SD to a new level. In an interview with Reuters on the eve of the elections, Kristersson confirmed the course toward creating a joint majority government and promised to give the “Sweden Democrats” ministerial posts.
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