00:00Journalist and broadcaster Alexander Seale joins us.
00:04Alexander, it's a close call either way, so is it possible to say whether the right wing has really lost
00:11a lot of ground?
00:12What are the trends that you're seeing?
00:15I think it tells us that Sweden is essentially divided down the middle politically.
00:21The central left currently has a very narrow lead, 176 seats against 173 for the right wing bloc.
00:31So this is certainly not an overwhelming mandate for either side.
00:36But there is a bigger story here.
00:38Sweden was once dominated by the social democrats, whereas today we have a much more fragmented political landscape.
00:49And voters are divided not just over economics, but over immigration, crime, welfare and what kind of society Sweden should
01:00be.
01:01So even if Magdalena Andersson ultimately returns as prime minister, I wouldn't describe this as Sweden simply swinging back to
01:12the left.
01:12It is a very divided country politically, and forming a stable government could be difficult.
01:19You know, we can't help but draw parallels with what happened in Germany last week, where the AFD made dramatic
01:25gains in a state election.
01:27And there's much talk of the far right gaining ground across Europe.
01:31Can you say there are parallels with Sweden, or is it very different because of those nuances?
01:37I think it shows that we have to be careful about describing what's happening across Europe as one single far
01:46right wave.
01:47There are common concerns, immigration, identity, the cost of living and distrust of established political parties.
01:57But national circumstances are very different.
02:00In Germany, the AFD can still portray itself as an insurgent force challenging the political establishment, particularly in eastern Germany.
02:11Sweden is different.
02:13The Sweden Democrats have already supported the government for four years, so voters can now judge them partly on the
02:22political record of that period.
02:24So I don't think we're seeing the disappearance of the populist right in Sweden.
02:28We're seeing different versions of right-wing populism evolving differently across Europe.
02:35You mentioned distrust.
02:37How much of this vote could be a vote against established political leadership?
02:44Yes, really, it's really significant.
02:48First of all, Sweden Democrats had been on an almost continuous upward trajectory since entering Parliament in 2010.
02:56But I would be very careful about interpreting this as the collapse of the populist right in Sweden.
03:05The Sweden Democrats have supported Ulf, Kristen Stern's government in Parliament since 2022.
03:13And during that period, Sweden has adopted significantly tougher policies over immigration and crime.
03:19So people were worried about household finances, the cost of living remains very tangible concerns for Swedish voters.
03:29But immigration is particularly interesting because actual immigration into Sweden has fallen dramatically.
03:37So there is really a debate about distrust and we shouldn't forget there are votes about welfare.
03:45The Social Democrats campaigned heavily on health care, public services and reducing inequality.
03:52So this wasn't simply an election about immigration.
03:56It was also about economic security and whether Sweden's traditional welfare model is still delivering for ordinary voters.
04:06Very good point.
04:07Thank you so much.
04:07Really interesting.
04:08That's journalist and broadcaster Alexander Sell speaking about the elections in Sweden.
04:14And how does it happen?
04:14We believe that in Syria I was very jumped to the national
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