Sweden bumps Greens to second place in EU vote
UPDATED: The Green Party has overtaken the Moderates to become Sweden's second largest party in the EU election. Newcomers Feminist Initiative and Sweden Democrats have taken their first ever European parliament seats.
The Green Party climbed to 15.2 percent of the Swedish vote the European Parliament elections on Sunday, making it the second largest party after the Social Democrats, who received 24.5 percent of the vote.
The night also ushered two smaller and new parties into the union's elected assembly. The Sweden Democrats (SD) took home 9.9 percent of the votes, gaining its first two seats, while Feminist Initiative took its first seat as the party received 5.3 percent of the vote.
READ ALSO: The Local meets Sweden's Feminists at one of their cash-strapped house parties
The Moderates instead suffered a major collapse, dropping to 13.5 percent. The Pirate Party suffered an even worse blow, losing both its seats after only scraping together 2.2 percent of the votes.
READ ALSO: The Local heads to the Sweden Democrats' national meeting
Södertörn University political scientist Nick Aylott summarized the results as a good day for small parties - but added that there was nothing worth getting excited about.
"No one will be carried away with manic depression or extreme joy over these results," he told The Local. "But it will be a very different story with the national elections in September." "In general, it's been a good day for small parties and the feminists made the real breakthrough. Now, Sweden's 20 mandates will be even more thinly spread among nine parties compared to eight last time around," he said. Full statistics
Left Party 6.3 percent
Social Democrats 24.4 percent
Green Party 15.3 percent
The Liberals (Folkpartiet) 10.0 percent
Christian Democrats 6.0 percent
Moderate Party 13.6 percent
Sweden Democrats 9.7 percent
Pirate Party 2.2 percent
Feminist Initiative 5.3 percent
Centre Party: 6.5 percent
Comments
See Also
The Green Party climbed to 15.2 percent of the Swedish vote the European Parliament elections on Sunday, making it the second largest party after the Social Democrats, who received 24.5 percent of the vote.
The night also ushered two smaller and new parties into the union's elected assembly. The Sweden Democrats (SD) took home 9.9 percent of the votes, gaining its first two seats, while Feminist Initiative took its first seat as the party received 5.3 percent of the vote.
READ ALSO: The Local meets Sweden's Feminists at one of their cash-strapped house parties
The Moderates instead suffered a major collapse, dropping to 13.5 percent. The Pirate Party suffered an even worse blow, losing both its seats after only scraping together 2.2 percent of the votes.
READ ALSO: The Local heads to the Sweden Democrats' national meeting
Södertörn University political scientist Nick Aylott summarized the results as a good day for small parties - but added that there was nothing worth getting excited about.
Full statistics
Left Party 6.3 percent
Social Democrats 24.4 percent
Green Party 15.3 percent
The Liberals (Folkpartiet) 10.0 percent
Christian Democrats 6.0 percent
Moderate Party 13.6 percent
Sweden Democrats 9.7 percent
Pirate Party 2.2 percent
Feminist Initiative 5.3 percent
Centre Party: 6.5 percent
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.