Sweden: In the Swedish parliament, a right-wing coalition consisting of a nationalist anti-immigration party won a low majority.
The Scandinavian nation, which had a long history of embracing refugees but is currently dealing with a wave of immigration-related crime, resulted in a significant political shift.
In the weekend elections held on Wednesday with 99.9% of the vote count, centre-left Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson declared defeat. She announced that she would resign on Thursday.
The leader of the populist Sweden Democrats, Jimmy Axon, declared the four-party bloc the winner. In the process of restoring security in Sweden, he declared that his party would be "a creative and driving force". "Time to put Sweden first," he said.
The country's second largest party, the Sweden Democrats, are part of a coalition that won a meager majority in the legislature. Although some votes were still pending, they were insufficient to change the result.
Prime Minister Anderson announced that his centre-left forces had lost the election because "the preliminary result is clear enough to draw conclusions."
Last year Andersen became Sweden's first female prime minister. He oversaw the country's historic application to join NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Despite Andersen's personal popularity, there is growing unease about high crime rates in neighbourhoods with segregation in Sweden, which is home to a large immigrant population that has had trouble assimilating. Some blamed the Social Democrats for his eight years in power.
The leader of Moderates, Sweden's third-largest party, Ulf Kristersson, considered a key player and potential prime minister in the right-wing bloc, thanked voters for their support. "Now we will settle Sweden," he posted on Facebook.
"The change we requested has been given to the Moderates and other parties on my side. I have now begun the process of forming a new, efficient government," Christerson announced.
Because the party was founded in the 1980s by neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists, the Democrats of Sweden have long been despised by Swedes.
In recent years, it has been supported with tougher stances on crime and immigration amid a rise in shootings and other gang violence by driving extremists and entering the mainstream.
Axon, 43, who is leading the change, announced in his speech on Wednesday night that Sweden needed to start a new chapter.
According to Axon, the failed social democratic policies that have steered the country in the wrong direction for the past eight years will finally come to an end. “It is time to start restoring security, welfare and unity. It is time to make Sweden a priority.
The Democrats of Sweden will contribute positively and actively to this effort.
He declared, "Now the work of making Sweden good begins again.
The results gave Andersen's centre-left bloc 173 seats and the right-wing bloc 176 seats in the 349-member Riksdag. Sweden needs 175 seats for a majority.
The four right-wing parties seem to have won slightly less than 50% of the vote, and have added a seat or two to the Riksdag. "The majority, though a slim one," Anderson said.
I will therefore request my resignation as Prime Minister tomorrow, and the Speaker of Parliament and the Riksdag will now be in charge of carrying out the remaining steps.
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