"It's tighter than I thought," wrote Antoine, a Green Party voter. "I would have expected a stronger rejection of the Tidö parties," he added, noting that it looked like the centre-left Social Democrats had conducted a weaker campaign than the centre-right Moderates.
The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats saw their vote share shrink for the first time in an election, but many readers were still disappointed that they got as much as 17 percent.
A Left Party voter from the US wrote that he felt "discouraged that the opportunism, the obvious pandering and deception of the right-wing are not visible to most Swedes".
He added that he hoped that the future would nevertheless bring "a movement away from ethno-nationalist, individualist politics and an awareness that it was a strong egalitarian system that was the bedrock of Swedish development".
A British business owner based in Dalarna wrote that she was disappointed that the town in which she lives seemed to be majority Sweden Democrat.
"I hope that the future of Sweden will hold more inclusivity, less hate and more respect for people of different backgrounds," she wrote.
ESSENTIAL READING: What does Sweden's unexpectedly close election result mean for foreigners?
Nadia, a British student in rural Hälsingland who voted for the Left Party and Greens in the local and regional elections, felt relieved to see falling support for the Sweden Democrats, but worried about what the final government constellation will actually end up looking like.
"I hope Swedes from all walks of life come to realise that there are more important things than the price of fuel at the pump. We have to prioritise progressive action against climate change, reject dehumanising migration policies and rebuild the country's socialist ethos."
A reader from the Baltic states wrote that he would have voted for the Social Democrats, the biggest party on the centre-left, if he had been eligible to vote in the parliamentary election.
"The last couple of years have felt like a rollercoaster that has turned my life upside-down, especially due to changes in naturalisation laws. That showed that the legal principle of legitimate expectation is inexistent here. If one can't rely on the state, one can't be sure of anything in the future," he wrote about the lack of transitional citizenship rules.
While most of the readers who responded to the survey favoured one of the centre-left parties, not everyone did. A business analyst from India, based in Stockholm, said he would have voted for the Moderate Party if he had been eligible to vote in the national election.
"Feels like I am watching a thriller movie, with twists and turns at every end. Considering the right populist wave going on throughout the world, I thought the Sweden Democrats would come out as the second largest party," he wrote.
"It will be interesting to see what kind of coalition government will be formed. What negotiations, compromises and backstabbing will unfold in the coming political drama."
A Christian Democrat voter wrote that he was saddened to see the left bloc leading.
"I expected the right to keep the same result as before. They have done great so far, Sweden is safer and richer than before and they have done a very good job so far," he wrote, adding that he wanted safety, better taxes and fewer criminals in Sweden.
And while many supported the centre-left, not everyone did so enthusiastically.
An architect who wasn't yet eligible to vote in the national election said he would have voted for a centre-left party, but still worried that such a government would not bring in the transitional rules for citizenship applicants that it promised in the election campaign.
"The initial results make me feel a little more optimistic. However, I'm still not entirely convinced about the promises made during the election campaign, especially when it comes to the transition rules. Keeping my fingers crossed for the best," he wrote.
Even if the centre-left looks like it's in the lead, not all votes have yet been counted, and it's going to have a difficult time uniting its allies to form a government. The mood among readers was tense, even among those who were pleased about a left-wing victory.
AS IT HAPPENED: Final result not expected until Wednesday as blocs neck and neck
Thomas from the US was disappointed that the current government got so much support, and had been hoping that the polls leading up to the vote would be more accurate.
"It will be very glum," he wrote about the future of Sweden. "Seeing the support the current coalition is still gathering I don't have much respect for the electorate now."
Eric, a software engineer from the US, wrote that he had been hoping for a "much clearer shrinking" of the votes for the governing right-wing parties compared to the 2022 election, to send a message to the parties that "normalising the far right does not pay off".
"Instead, every single Tidö party, except the Sweden Democrats, increased its vote share, leaving them with an extremely muddled after-action report. What is a campaign strategist at the Liberals or Moderates supposed to think? ‘Working with the far right is great, actually. Let's just do more to stoke their base next time.' It's troubling, and a bad sign for 2030."
He wrote that he was hoping for a general lowering of temperatures in politics.
"Less polarisation, and more of a return to boring consensus built on informed inputs."
Comments (4)