Sweden held extremely close elections on Sunday, in which the far-right had for the first time a real possibility of entering the government of the Nordic country. More than eight million Swedish citizens were called upon to decide who will govern the country for the next four years.
According to The Guardian newspaper, the center-left opposition alliance was leading in the polls, with Magdalena Andersson, from the Social Democratic Party, as the favorite to resume the role of prime minister after four years in opposition. Currently, the country is governed by Ulf Kristersson, leader of the center-right Moderate Party, who is running for re-election having formed a coalition with the far-right. If Kristersson won, the Swedish government would begin including far-right ministers.
These elections took place one week after the German party Alternative for Germany won first place in the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, in a context of growth of far-right parties in Europe.
Civil rights experts warned that a far-right victory could compromise Sweden's reputation as a defender of human rights. John Stauffer, legal director of the organization Civil Rights Defenders, stated that over the past four years, enormous changes have been seen in crime and immigration policies. Founded in 1980, the Swedish far-right party achieved its best result in the 2022 elections, when it reached 20.5% of the vote, becoming the largest right-wing party in parliament.
