Sweden's Social Democrats face weak minority government
Source: The Guardian
Anti-immigrant far-right holds balance of power as Stefan Löfven prepares for coalition talks with Greens and other parties
Sweden's Social Democratic party, which on Sunday ended its longest spell in opposition in a century, faces a weak minority government after the far-right Sweden Democrats emerged as the third-largest party.
In his first speech after the election result, the incoming prime minister, Stefan Löfven, a former welder who built his career in the country's union movement, insisted the new government would be functional. "I am ready to form a workable government for Sweden," he said. "The Swedish people have turned their backs against tax cuts and privatisations. The Swedish people demanded change."
Mariam Ismail Egal, a Social Democrat campaigner in Malmö, where 40% of people are from an immigrant background, said many in the city were "disappointed and frightened" that the Sweden Democrats had doubled their vote to more than 13%. "I think we are becoming more like France, and I think we will see a lot of conflict and division in our society," she said. Jimmie Åkesson, the party's leader, was jubilant as preliminary vote counts came in. "We're the absolute kingmaker now," he said. "They can't ignore us the way they have ignored us over the past four years."
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/15/sweden-social-democrats-election-victory
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world governments. Are we next, again?
