Sweden election 2018: Who is leading in the polls? Is the anti-EU party making ground?
EXCLUSIVE: The Sweden election is right around the corner and with less than three weeks to go, Eurosceptic party Sweden Democrats (SD) is on the rise. Who is currently leading in the polls and is the anti-EU party making ground?
Sweden Democrats leader confident of winning general election
The Swedish general election is scheduled for Sunday, September 9, 2018, and this year’s election could see a new prime minister replacing Stefan Löfven, who has held the title since 2014.
The latest poll was conducted on August 12 by Sipo, and is currently showing the Social Democrats topping the survey.
175 seats are needed for a majority, and several polls have shown the SD are on course to surpass the Moderates to become the country’s second-largest party.
Other opinion polls have even suggested the far-right party could surpass the Social Democrats to become the largest party, with up to 25.8 percent of the votes.
Sweden has three alliances: Left Party, Green Party and Social Democrats who form the leftist coalition, the Moderate Party, Centre Party, Liberals and Christian Democrats who form “The Alliance” and the Sweden Democrats who are currently standing alone.
None of the alliances currently holds a majority, but the leftist coalition comes closest with 148 seats, followed by The Alliance’s 129 and Sweden Democrats 72 seats.
This is split by the following:
- Left party - 21
- Social Democrats - 113
- Green Party - 25
- Centre Party - 22
- Liberal Party - 19
- Moderate party - 83
- Christian Democrats - 16
- Sweden Democrats - 42
The recent poll has shown the SD party are gaining voters for their strict policies on immigration, but they will need to team up with a different party to get enough seats to win the election.
What I would like to see happen is a strong government that can build on conservative ideas
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk Swedish MP for the Moderate Party, Hanif Bali has said he is open to forming a coalition government with the SD Party if that means more of his party’s policies can get voted through.
However, the Moderate Party has not stated it is open to leaving their alliance so far.
Mr Bali said: “The party is divided. The main party line is that we are not going to go into government with SD, but will stick with ‘The Alliance’.
“What I would like to see happen is a strong government that can build on conservative ideas.
“Personally I am not a big party strategist - I am a policymaker. We have a lot of important policies and for me it's most important that these policies are implemented, more than who presents them.”
The Sweden Democrats have gained support in the polls as it focuses its campaign on refugees and migrants ahead of the September election.
The Social Democrat Party might be heading for their worst election in almost a century, losing foothold in areas unimaginable only two to three years ago.
Mr Bali said: “They are losing their stronghold in the north which is unique, and on top of that they have lost Gothenburg.
“They are currently the fourth largest party in Gothenburg, which is almost unbelievable. They usually always have the strongest majority in this city.”
The most recent poll currently shows these numbers:
Moderate Party: 19 percent
Social Democrats Party: 24.8 percent
Sweden Democrats: 19.4 percent
Liberal Party: 5.6 percent
Left Party: 9.1 percent
Feminist Initiative: 1 percent
Centre Party: 9.9 percent
Green Party: 5.9 percent
Christian Democrats: 3.8 percent
Other: 1.5 percent