Overview
- The Swedish Election Authority completed the count on Thursday and gave the four opposition parties 176 seats in the 349-seat Riksdag versus 173 for the right‑wing bloc, a margin decided by late and overseas ballots.
- Incumbent prime minister Ulf Kristersson promptly requested to be relieved of office after the final tally, clearing the way for Andersson to begin formal government‑formation talks.
- Andersson must win support from the Centre Party, the Left Party and the Greens, but the Centre Party opposes giving cabinet posts to the Left Party and the Left Party insists on ministerial roles, creating a difficult negotiation dynamic.
- The Sweden Democrats lost ground compared with 2022, reducing the far right's parliamentary leverage and changing the balance that underpinned the outgoing government’s strict migration measures.
- Coalition talks are likely to take weeks because Sweden’s proportional system makes small parties potential kingmakers and past government formations have stretched from a month to several months, with migration, crime and economic policy the central issues to watch.