Who on earth do I vote for on June 7th?

Good question.

Let's start with having a look at the European Parliament, which contains members from national political parties from all member states. There's obviously no one individual party which has any kind of control of the parliament in terms of a high percentage of seats. Parties from the different countries have therefore formed broadly ideological alliances.

This is how the European Parliament looks now, divided by its major political groups (which ought not to be confused with pan-European political parties). A right old alphabet soup it is, too:

EPP-ED
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats (284 seats, including 6 Swedish)

PES
Socialist Group in the European Parliament (215, 5)

ALDE/ADLE
Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (103, 3)

UEN
Union for Europe of the Nations Group (44, 0)

Greens/EFA
Group of the Greens / European Free Alliance (42, 1)

EUL-NGL
Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left (41, 2)

IND/DEM
Independence/Democracy Group (24, 2)

NI
Not attached (32, 0)

So, when considering for whom you wish to cast your ballot, it’s not only worth thinking about what the Swedish party or candidate stands for, but also which of the above party groups a given candidate is likely to join.

In Sweden, voters can choose from established political parties represented in the Riksdag, as well as a wide-range of fringe and protest parties from across the political spectrum.

Next: But what do the parties in Sweden actually want to do?

Step by Step guide:

1. The European Parliament in 30 seconds or less

2. European Parliamentary Elections

3. Who can vote in Sweden?

4. How do I vote and how does the election work?

5. Who on earth do I vote for on June 7th?

6. But what do the parties in Sweden actually want to do?

6 a.   Riksdag Parties (from left to right)

6 b.   Other parties to watch (in no particular order)

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