Tidö leaders talks begin over dinner
The leaders of Sweden's right-wing parties in the so-called Tidö coalition had dinner at Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's official residence on Monday evening to discuss the road ahead after a tight election result.
"Right now, there is only one viable government option," said Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch.
Kristersson, whose bloc now holds 173 seats to the centre-left bloc's 176 (in the preliminary count), has indicated he will try to convince the Centre Party to come over to his side.
The Centre Party has so far rejected being part of a government that includes the Sweden Democrats.
But sources from the right-wing bloc speaking to Swedish media appear to suggest that they still believe that there is a chance that the Centre Party could still be brought onboard, especially if the Tidö coalition continues as today, with the Sweden Democrats staying out of government but taking part in their legislative work in parliament.
The Local's Richard Orange looked at possible options for a future government in this article.
Oh, and what did they have for dinner last night? Reindeer steak, and tofu for Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson. (The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: a dinner – middag
Left Party doubles down on cabinet demand as Centre Party keeps door firmly shut
Sweden's Left Party won't budge on its demand to join the government in exchange for supporting Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson as prime minister; but nor will the Centre Party on its refusal to support a government that includes the Left.
"We need the parties that have chosen Magdalena Andersson as our PM candidate to start saying yes to each other," Ida Gabrielsson, deputy leader of the Left Party, told the TT news agency.
Gabrielsson stressed that it is "a given that the Left Party, which gained the most ground in this election", should have real influence.
"My wish is that the Centre Party – who clearly realise they can't get backing for Magdalena Andersson and themselves in government in any other way unless we give in – accept that the four of us govern together. You can't demand to govern on someone else's mandate," said Gabrielsson.
Centre Party secretary Hannes Hervieu said that his party is "ready to negotiate with the Social Democrats", when asked if the party was prepared to negotiate with the Left Party.
"The Left Party has threatened to trigger a snap election if they aren't given a place in government, and we don't think the Left Party should be in government. It is better for us to negotiate directly with the Social Democrats and see what other solutions can be found," Hervieu told TT. (TT/The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: snap election – nyval / extraval
No coordinated foreign interference in Sweden's general election
The Swedish general election wasn't targeted by any major cyber attacks or coordinated foreign influence campaigns, according to the Psychological Defence Agency (MPF).
Attempts by foreign powers to influence the vote had been a key concern ahead of the parliamentary election.
"We have not seen any extensive coordinated activity from the actors we monitor in connection with the running of the election," said Karin Lönnheden, head of operations at MPF, in a statement.
The National Cyber Security Centre also reported that it had not noted "any incidents that affected the execution of the election from a cybersecurity perspective." (The Local)
Swedish vocabulary: defence – försvar
Healthcare remains top priority for Swedish voters in election exit poll
Healthcare once again tops the list of Swedish voters' most important election issues, according to public broadcaster SVT's exit poll.
This marks the third consecutive election in which healthcare has been the top priority for Swedish voters, finishing just ahead of school and education, as in previous years.
A total of 53 percent consider healthcare to be of "very high importance" when choosing a party, compared with 51 percent for school and education.
The economy meanwhile climbed to third spot, overtaking law and order.
Energy and nuclear power, the fourth most important issue in 2022, isn't even in the top ten this year.
The category called refugees/immigration came in eighth place.
Swedish vocabulary: an issue – en fråga
Social Democrats criticised by allies after worst election result in over a century
Several left-wing commentators have criticised the Social Democrats' campaign as the party heads towards its worst election outcome since the introduction of universal suffrage.
The editorial page of the trade union-owned newspaper Arbetet writes that the Social Democrats ignored their own post-mortem from the 2022 election. In that analysis, the party concluded that focusing heavily on the Sweden Democrats during the final stretch failed to mobilise voters from the blue-collar trade union federation LO.
"The conclusion was clear: the party cannot base its strategy on voters' dislike of another party. Instead, the Social Democrats must try to build support for their own platform," wrote Arbetet, owned by LO Mediehus. "Four years later, the campaign culminated in the party scaring the public with the prospect of 12 Sweden Democrat cabinet ministers."
Karin Pettersson, culture editor at Aftonbladet and a former communications director for the Social Democrats, wrote that the party was handed an open goal – but missed.
Pettersson argued that the party should have ushered in a generational shift long ago, but that "instead of challenging the party leadership stuck in a 1990s mindset, the younger generation accepted Mikael Damberg's and Magdalena Andersson's rigid, outdated approach".
Daniel Suhonen, head of the union-owned think tank Katalys, described the Social Democrats' result as "a complete collapse" in an interview with Expressen.
He said the platform the party ran on was the "most progressive in decades", but that they simply failed to talk about it.
"They relied on an advantage built on economic conditions and voter dissatisfaction with the government, rather than creating momentum for their own vision," he told the newspaper.
Swedish vocabulary: clear – tydlig
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