“The people of Sweden have voted for a new direction for our country. They voted for unity and against division. The people of Sweden voted for Sweden to move forward, and I want to implement the new direction you voted for,” she said in a speech posted on social media.
Earlier on Thursday, it became clear that the left-wing bloc led by M. Andersson of the Social Democratic Party won the Swedish parliamentary elections.
The four left-wing bloc parties won a three-seat majority in the 349-seat parliament against the right-wing alliance of the current Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, which also includes the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats.
The Swedish Election Authority reported that in the elections held on Sunday, the four opposition parties won 176 seats, while the four parties forming or supporting the outgoing conservative-led government received 173 seats.
Read more The left-wing opposition won the Swedish parliamentary elections by a narrow margin
The two camps are separated by just 50,000 votes in a country with a population of 10.6 million.
Initially, the small lead held by the opposition was unclear, but it was confirmed after counting the votes cast during early voting – including votes from abroad – which had not yet reached the polling stations on election day.
However, the opposition is deeply divided due to ideological differences, so M. Andersson’s negotiation skills and expertise will be tested in uniting the bloc, which consists of the Social Democrats, the Left Party, the Green Party, and the Centre Party.
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