Sweden’s Kristersson Resigns After Narrow Centre-Left Election Win

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday he is resigning after a final vote count confirmed a razor-thin defeat for his right-wing bloc in Sunday’s parliamentary election. Centre-left opposition parties won 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag while Kristersson’s alliance secured 173, the election authority reported, according to Reuters. In a letter posted on X, Kristersson asked to be relieved of office so the Speaker can begin forming a new government immediately.

Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson—Sweden’s first woman prime minister in 2021—is positioned for a comeback after four years in opposition. “The Swedish people have voted for a new direction for our country,” she said in a speech shared on Instagram, the BBC reported. Andersson has opened talks with the Left Party, Centre Party, and Green Party, though differences over taxes and coalition partners could stretch negotiations for weeks.

The result ends a four-year centre-right experiment that leaned on outside support from the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. Kristersson had pledged cabinet roles for the far-right party if he won; instead, the Sweden Democrats lost vote share for the first time since entering parliament in 2010, tipping the chamber toward the opposition. That setback runs against a broader European trend of far-right gains.

Swedish governments often take time to assemble—37 days after the 2022 vote and 134 days in 2018—and Kristersson warned that opposition parties’ pre-election pledges could complicate the next cabinet. Results remain subject to formal certification in the coming days. For readers following wider diplomacy coverage on iShook Daily, see also our recent report on Modi–Xi border peace talks.

With ballots counted and Kristersson stepping aside, attention shifts to Stockholm’s Speaker-led talks and whether Andersson can lock in a stable majority—or another prolonged minority arrangement—before parliament moves to elect Sweden’s next prime minister.