Sweden's far right makes strong gains in cliffhanger election
The Hindu
Sweden has seen mounting political instability in recent years as the gradual rise of the far-right has upset the traditional balance of power in Parliament
Sweden on Monday began a days-long wait for the final results of its too-close-to-call general election, with an unprecedented right-wing and far-right bloc in position to wrest power from Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats.
The Scandinavian country has seen mounting political instability in recent years as the gradual rise of the far-right has upset the traditional balance of power in Parliament.
Sweden again found itself in a delicate parliamentary situation after Sunday's legislative election, with the right-wing seen holding a razor-thin lead over Andersson's outgoing left bloc.
"The close result in Parliament suggests Sweden is heading for yet another messy mandate", newspaper of reference Dagens Nyheter wrote on Monday.
With the vote deemed too close to call, election authorities said a final result would only be ready on Wednesday, when the last ballots from abroad and from advance voting had been counted.
Editorialist Anders Lindberg of daily Aftonbladet said it appeared "impossible for the left to win because the votes from abroad are... usually in favour of the right".
With 95% of votes counted on Monday, the right-wing led by conservative Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson was credited with an absolute majority of 175 of 349 seats in Parliament.