Sweden faces a period of political uncertainty after an election that did not leave either main parliamentary bloc with a majority
With more than 99% of the vote counted, the centre-left bloc is sitting on 40.6% and the centre-right on 40.2%
Analysts predict long negotiations, potentially taking weeks, will be needed to create a majority or a plausible minority government
The populist, anti-immigrant party Sweden Democrats won 17.6% of the vote, up on the 12.9% it scored in 2014, but well below the 25% predicted in some polls.
The governing Social Democrats, led by prime minister Stefan Löfven, saw their score fall to 28.4%, the lowest for a century but maintained their record of finishing first in every election since 1917
Löfven said he would not be resigning, and urged cross-bloc cooperation. He also said the Sweden Democrats “can never, and will never, offer anything that will help society. They will only increase division and hate.”
We’re going to wrap up the live blog for tonight. Thanks for following along. This story is likely to go on for quite some time as discussions and negotiations look set to stretch over the coming days and weeks and we will continue to bring you the news as it unfolds.
There has been some consternation among those commentating on this election about the way the election has been reported in some US and British media, with some outlets calling the Swedish election a victory for far-right populism.
As Jon Henley, our correspondent in Stockholm helpfully reminds us: “For all the horror and the headlines, 82% of Swedish voters failed to cast their ballots for the Sweden Democrats on Sunday, and there is no chance of anti-immigration nationalists taking a formal part in the next government.”
Jeremy Cliffe, columnist for the Economist, has written an excellent thread on Twitter on this subject, it’s worth reading the whole thing, but here are some highlights.
Are anti-establishment parties (some, but by no means all, on the right) generally rising in Europe? Yes. Should the establishment react? Yes. Yet the underperformance of the Sweden Democrats relative to US/UK media hysteria is part of a depressingly familiar pattern.
But it hypes fringe parties far beyond their genuine strengths (some mainstream British outlets take the AfD more seriously than its own loyal outriders in the German alt-media) and obscures the contingent, local circumstances of their rise.
What next for Sweden? Our European affairs correspondent Jon Henley, who is on the ground in Stockholm predicts not much more will happen tonight as leaders head into horse-trading phase.
Sweden now faces a “protracted period of political uncertainty”, as the two main parliamentary blocs are both well short of a majority, and virtually tied with the centre-left bloc on 40.6% of the vote and the centre-right on 40.2%. Jon Henley writes:
The new government, which could now take weeks to form, will need either cross-bloc alliances between centre-right and centre-left parties, or an accommodation with the Sweden Democrats – long shunned by all other parties because of their extremist roots – to pass legislation, potentially giving the populists a say in policy.
This is Kate Lyons taking over from Patrick Greenfield after what has been a dramatic day in Swedish politics.
Stefan Löfven, who has been prime minister since 2014, has delivered a speech, the most significant lines from it are that Löfven said he would not be resigning, and urged cross-bloc cooperation.
“The Sweden Democrats can never, and will never, offer anything that will help society. They will only increase division and hate.”
The mainstream parties now had a “moral responsibility” to form a government, he said.
It has been a long day and it is time for for me to head off and hand the live blog over.
Sweden faces a protracted period of political uncertainty after an election that left the two main parliamentary blocs tied but well short of a majority, and the far-right Sweden Democrats promising to wield “real influence” in parliament after making more modest gains than many had predicted, writes the Guardian’s Jon Henley from Stockholm.
With over 99% of votes counted, this is how it stands.
The Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven is up and speaking. He said nothing will be determined tonight but said a cross-bloc government will need to form.
Swedish PM Stefan Löfven speaking now: It is clear that cross-bloc coalition is needed to govern. This night should be the death of bloc politics. #SwedenElection
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven: "The Sweden Democrats can never, and will never, offer anything that will help society. They will only increase division and hate." Says that all parties now have a "moral responsibility" to form a government. #SwedenElection
Swedish prime minister who led the Social Democrats to its lowest share of the vote in more than a century gets cheered to the rafters as he announces he won't step down. pic.twitter.com/PVpqRNeMX5
Sweden's ruling centre-left leading centre-right by 144 seats to 143 with 99% of districts counted - unbelievably close. Sweden Democrats with 62 seats in 3rd. pic.twitter.com/anRg10Ozgo
The leader of Sweden’s Liberal Party, Jan Bjorklund, has said he wanted a centre-right Alliance government but that it would not come as a result of any cooperation with the unaligned, anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, according to Reuters.
“I want an Alliance government, but it will not happen in cooperation with the Sweden Democrats,” Bjorklund told a party rally.
The Liberals are part of the four-party Alliance, which was running neck-and-neck with Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s centre-left bloc with only just over 100 of 6,004 districts left to be counted.
#SwedenElection coalition issues: *Left-Green: Must include Left Party, so unlikely a right party would cross to join *Center-Right: Liberal & Center parties say they won't join govt that relies on Sweden Democrat support *Sweden Democrats: No party will form coalition with them
