Sweden votes over immigration as right-wing bloc gains traction

Swedes were voting in a closely fought election on Sunday that will either bring a far-right party into government for the first time or shift the country back towards the liberalism that has long defined the northern European kingdom.

Sweden’s centre-left opposition holds a narrow lead over the ruling right-wing bloc ahead of the September 13 election for parliament, several opinion polls have shown this week.

But Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, ‌who has trailed in opinion polls throughout his four years in office, has been catching up in the final weeks of campaigning, with rival Magdalena Andersson and her Social Democrats losing ground.

Kristersson has pledged to bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government if his bloc wins.

“We can unify parties, voters and issues into joint action. That’s why we get things done,” he told reporters this week.

Critics say his government’s agenda is undermining civil liberties while forcing immigrants to conform more closely to Swedish cultural norms or leave the country, urged on by both inducements and penalties.