In September's election the opposition bloc led by the Social Democrats won exactly 176 seats, a bare majority, yet nearly a month on no new government has formed. A Global Times commentary ties the deadlock to a wider Nordic shift to the right.
According to a Global Times commentary, the opposition camp led by the Social Democrats won 176 seats in the September 13 election, just enough for a majority. As of October, Sweden remains in a formation deadlock and a caretaker government continues to run.
광고 문의 · 300×250On September 28, Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson said she was giving up her attempt to form a government for now, citing deep differences between the Left Party and the Centre Party. The piece says the Swedish left has 'won strength but not power'.
Why the Nordics lean right
The author argues that Europe's far-right rise accompanies economic, social, immigration and security crises. In welfare-rich, high-trust Nordic societies the shock is felt more directly, especially over immigration; small populations feel refugee inflows more strongly, and 'welfare chauvinism' has emerged, favouring citizens or contributors. The piece also notes the Social Democrats put a strict migration policy in their platform as a mild response to public anxiety.
In October 2022 Sweden's three governing parties struck the Tido agreement with the far-right Sweden Democrats, breaking the precedent of non-cooperation. Finland's Finns Party joined government in 2015 and again in 2023, and the piece says it 'de-radicalised' in the process. After racist remarks by its officials surfaced in July 2023, Prime Minister Orpo pushed a four-party anti-racism pact.
The author's conclusion
The author says the Nordic shift is less violent than the storm the AfD caused in the Saxony-Anhalt election, but it raises far-right parties' status as kingmakers, deepens instability and gradually shapes public mood and policy. This is the author's own analysis, and the piece gives no seat breakdown for individual parties.
