Axén Olin toasts Stockholm win

The news only became worse for Social Democrats as the night went on. Not only did the historically dominant left-wing party lose grip of the national government, voters in Stockholm also said it was time for a change.

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Stockholm’s Social Democrat Mayor Annika Billström was decisively rejected in favor of Moderate Kristina Axén Olin, the opposition leader in Stockholm City Hall.

Axén Olin has been counting down to election night for the past 500 days, but it wasn’t until after midnight, hours after most of the results were in, that she was able to relax and speak, reported Dagens Nyheter.

“Stockholmers want it clean, secure and nice in combination with them not loving too much government control,” she said, adding that the Social Democrats never had a real vision for those in the city.

During the night, after many hugs and pats on the back and interviews, she was able to speak with her big brother Thomas who said their mother, who died in 2005, would have been proud of her, DN reported.

“I always have something of my mother’s with me,” she said, fingering a gold bracelet on her wrist.

Lately, Axén Olin has been asked how she feels about a possible ministerial post in the new Alliance-led government.

“I want to be mayor in Stockholm,” she said. “That is what I have strived after,” has been the typical response.

Billström, who will turn over the leadership of Stockholm to Axén Olin on October 16th, said she was happy with the election, and blamed the loss on the Social Democrats’ slide that happened around the country.

“It isn’t just in Stockholm where the Social Democrats fell,” she said at her party’s election night celebration in Stockholm.

The result means that the Alliance will lead Stockholm for the next four years. With 456 of 461 wards having delivered their results, Axén Olin's Moderate Party had won 37.3 percent of the votes, 11.3 percentage points higher than in the last election. The Alliance has 56 percent of the Stockholm municipality votes.

The Liberal party fell back six points, landing with 9.6 percent of the votes. The Social Democrats saw a large fall in support, winning 24.5 percent of the votes, compared to 32.2 percent in 2002.

The Centre Party was particularly pleased, gaining a seat on the city council after being entirely unrepresented in Stockholm in the past four years.


Figures for Stockholm council election:

Moderate Party - 37.3 percent - 41 seats
Centre Party - 3.1 percent - 1 seat
Liberal Party - 9.6 percent - 10 seats
Christian Democrats - 3.9 percent - 4 seats

Social Democrats - 24.5 percent - 27 seats
Left Party - 7.9 percent - 8 seats
Green Party - 9.2 percent - 10 seats