The
Sweden Democrats leader, Jimmie Åkesson, delivers a speech at the party’s
election results event near Stockholm after the far-right party slipped to
third place. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images
The far
right’s march to power in Sweden has been halted, but its influence remains
Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent
The
Sweden Democrats slipped to third after decades of growth, but their hardline
positions have already reshaped the political mainstream
Mon 14
Sep 2026 13.19 BST
Since the
party was founded in 1988, the story of the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) has
been one of such continuous growth that a triumph in Sunday’s general election
seemed inevitable.
In 2022,
the party capitalised on electoral gains – and the desperation of right-leaning
parties to form a minority administration – and
almost made its way into government. A supporting role in prime minister
Ulf Kristersson’s Tidö coalition earned the party, which has neo-Nazi roots,
huge influence and mainstream acceptance by the political establishment.
This
year’s election had been billed as final confirmation they were no longer
pariahs but serious political heavyweights. Early in the campaign, Kristersson
announced that, if his coalition were to win, the SD would take key ministerial
positions. But Sunday’s
results suggest the march of the far right into the heart of Sweden’s
government has been halted – for now.
Having
fallen from Sweden’s second biggest party to third place and, with the
right-leaning parties unlikely to be able to form a coalition, the SD appears
to have lost its route into government.
“What we
saw yesterday [Sunday] was a historic setback for the Sweden Democrats,” says
Niclas Nilsson, a lecturer and researcher at the anti-racism foundation Expo.
“The party has grown in every government election since 1988.”
The SD’s
leader, Jimmie Åkesson, appeared visibly shocked when he addressed supporters
late on election night. He said it was obvious they had lost some percentage
points, but claimed they were still “winners”. He appeared to suggest his
decision to be a team player and support coalition partner the Liberals may
have played a role in their loss of support.
Åkesson
appeared visibly shocked by the Sweden Democrats’ setback at a party
election-night event. Photograph: Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/AFP/Getty
Images
It is
perhaps too soon to say why the party shed votes, said Nilsson, but some of its
supporters may have gone to the Moderates, who had a good night.
Another
factor may have been that, after four years closely involved with the
government, the SD is no longer able to claim it is an anti-establishment
party. Turnout was about 80%, comparatively low for Sweden, which may also have
played a role.
There is
also the fact that much
of what the SD stand for has now become part of the Swedish political norm:
anti-immigration, harsh approaches to crime and punishment, an attitude to
integration that puts the onus on people moving to Sweden to abandon their
culture and religion to adapt to “Swedish” norms.
Their
influence has spread to the centre-left Social Democrats who – after losing the
last election – shifted their crime, immigration and integration strategies to
the right.
If the
Moderates end up joining a coalition government with the Social Democrats, then
the SD will be the biggest party in opposition, meaning it will still have a
prominent role on the national stage. But if the Social Democrats are able to
form a government without the Moderates, then the SD will again be on the
outside looking in, which could help steer national conversation, politics and
societal norms away from the right.
Magdalena
Andersson, the leader of the centre-left Social Democratic party, oversaw a
rise in support by shifting to the right. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
How it
responds to this moment will be key – to the party’s survival and the tenor of
Swedish politics.
But if,
with no centre-right parties to answer to, they end up going further right to
reinvigorate their base, it could have consequences in the future – and bring
Swedish politics to new lows, Nilsson warned.
After
all, there is no shortage of far-right support in Sweden. Recruitment, the
spread of ideas and mobilisation by far-right
groups known as active clubs continue to grow without regulation or
political rules – regardless of what is going on in Sweden’s parliament.
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