Sweden votes in tight race as far right eyes government role

Sweden voted Sunday in a tightly contested general election that could either bring the far right into government for the first time or return the left-wing opposition to power.

Conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told AFP he was optimistic that his four-party right-wing alliance, which includes the far-right Sweden Democrats, would emerge victorious.

If the bloc wins, Kristersson has promised the anti-immigration party their first-ever cabinet posts.

"I think there is a genuine enthusiasm for us being able to continue our important work," the 62-year-old said after casting his ballot in his home municipality of Strangnas.

For much of the campaign, opinion polls gave a comfortable lead to the four-party left-wing opposition headed by Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson.

But the gap narrowed to a dead heat in the final days of the race.

"It is now up to the Swedish people to decide which direction our country should take," Andersson told reporters after voting in her home municipality of Nacka.

"Should we have a government entirely dominated by the Sweden Democrats, something that has never happened in Sweden before? Or should we have a government led by me, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of cooperation?"

Her party, which governed the Scandinavian country for the better part of the 20th century and remains Sweden's largest, has pledged to bolster the welfare state and help struggling households cope with rising costs.

Adding a touch of star power to election day, ABBA's Benny Andersson performed at her party's headquarters in Stockholm, changing the lyrics of their hit song "Mamma Mia" to "Mag-da-le-na!".

Outgoing Prime Minister Kristersson has meanwhile vowed to focus on improving Swedes' everyday lives now that his government's clampdown on organised crime and immigration was starting to show results.

Deadly shootings and bombings by organised crime networks have fallen sharply in recent years, while asylum applications are at a record low.

"We want to use our new and far better preconditions to improve the lives of ordinary people... to make Sweden great again," Kristersson told AFP before the vote, borrowing US President Donald Trump's trademark slogan.

His three-party minority coalition cut a deal in 2022 with the Sweden Democrats giving them influence over government policy, particularly immigration and crime, in exchange for their support in parliament.

Over the past two decades, far-right leader Jimmie Akesson has steered the party with neo-Nazi roots into the mainstream and now stands on the verge of entering government.

Akesson struck a confident tone at a final campaign rally on Saturday in the Swedish capital.

"We've already won!" the 47-year-old told cheering supporters in Stockholm's Kungstradgarden Park.

"Sweden is becoming safer, better, and more Swedish," he said, surrounded by blue-and-yellow "Make Sweden Sweden Again" posters.

At a polling station, store manager Linda Eriksson, 48, told AFP she hoped voters would back change.

"I think it's a very important election this year, and hopefully a lot of people will realise that we have to change course... so that everyone will feel included in society," she said.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg urged voters to "vote out Tido", referring to the right-wing government's alliance with the far-right.

"No fascists in our government. Climate justice now!" she wrote on Instagram.

Voter Tommy Strand told AFP in central Stockholm he had cast his ballot for the Green Party.

"The most important thing is the climate. I think we can even cut back a little on our welfare state in order to secure the future," the 58-year-old said.

Polling stations close at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) when exit polls were to be published, with the first reliable results expected several hours later.

Some eight million people are eligible to vote in the country of 10.6 million, where voter turnout regularly tops 80 percent.

Around half of voters have cast their ballots in advance.

If the right wing were to win the election, the formation of a new government would be fairly straightforward.

But as the four left-wing parties are splintered ideologically, tough negotiations would be needed to form a government even if they hold a majority.