Swedish nationalists to stay out of new government
Sweden’s nationalists, who emerged as the second largest political force in last month’s elections, will stay out of the new government that will take over from Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats.
Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the Moderates and the likely new prime minister, said on Friday the cabinet will include ministers from his party and the smaller Christian Democrats, and it will rely on backing from the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats.
“The government will work closely with Sweden Democrats in Parliament and the Sweden Democrats will have a coordination office with its own officials in the government offices,” he said in Stockholm.
The announcement comes after weeks of negotiations within the four-party constellation that won a majority of seats in parliament in the Sept 11 election, and it is based on an agreement that promises the nationalists considerable political concessions in exchange for their support.
Kristersson managed to hammer out a deal after winning a two-day extension on Wednesday to wrap up the talks.
Negotiations on the makeup and agenda of the new government have been complicated by tensions between the Sweden Democrats and the smaller Liberal Party, which has sought to limit their influence.
Shunned by all mainstream political groups until their showing in the 2018 election, the Sweden Democrats in September surpassed Kristersson’s Moderates to become the second-largest force in Parliament, after the traditionally predominant Social Democrats.
While the nationalist party’s emergence tracked the Nordic country’s growing difficulties of integrating immigrants, gang-related violence and crime has taken over in past years as the driver of the Sweden Democrats’ support.
After the 2018 election, it took four months for Andersson’s predecessor, Stefan Lofven, to form a government as Sweden’s traditional political blocs imploded following the emergence of the Sweden Democrats, which fragmented the electoral landscape.