Reuters —
Swedes will vote on Sunday in a tight election that has effectively become a referendum on whether the far-right Sweden Democrats should join the government and cement their journey from pariahs to trusted partners in a country once seen as one of Europe’s most liberal.
The party, with roots in the neo-Nazi fringe, has around 19% of the vote, according to the latest polls, and the ruling center-right minority coalition has vowed to bring them into its bloc to secure Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson a second term in office.
“We have agreed to campaign on a platform of building a common, majority government and that I will lead that government,” Kristersson told Reuters on the campaign trail in late August.
The election will show whether Swedish voters want to deepen a political shift that has already upended decades of consensus on immigration and national identity, and turned one of Europe’s most open societies into a testing ground for tougher policies on integration, citizenship and border controls.
