Left-wing parties lead in polls ahead of Swedish elections

STOCKHOLM, (Patria) - Polls have shown that Swedish center-left parties have achieved a small but stable lead over right-wing bloc parties ahead of the elections held on Sunday, but forming a government after the elections could be difficult, Swedish media report, as reported by Al Jazeera.

According to a Kantar SIFO poll, the coalition of the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Left Party is ahead of the right-wing bloc parties by nearly four percent.

All leading parties have promised to exclude the Sweden Democrats (SD), a party known for its far-right views, which according to polls has nearly 16 to 18 percent voter support, from forming a government.

On the other hand, the SD has stated that they will bring down any government that does not allow them to participate in decision-making on immigration policies.

- A single-party government led by the Social Democrats will most likely win power - believes political scientist at Soderton University Nick Aylott.

The current Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Lofven, hopes to remain in power if he can convince center-right parties to support his center-left government instead of forming a coalition with the Democrats.

- Our bloc is larger than the center-right, but we will still seek some form of cooperation with that side - Lofven told Reuters. He emphasized that this includes organized action in parliament or other forms of cooperation.

For the Centre Party and the Liberals, a Social Democrat government could be more acceptable than forming their own center-left coalition government supported by the Sweden Democrats.

The largest party in the center-right coalition, the Moderate Party, says that after the elections, they will try to oust Lofven by voting in parliament. However, the party is in danger of achieving its worst results in eighteen years. If the party's popularity continues to fall, they could achieve their worst results since the 1970s.

Such an outcome would reduce the possibility of their leader Ulf Kristersson becoming prime minister, and the party would also have to rely on the support of the Sweden Democrats.

After a turbulent period for the government, the Green Party could decide to leave the ruling coalition.

The party almost left the coalition with the Social Democrats in 2015, after stricter migration policies were introduced, and the Social Democrats are not giving up on stricter rules for asylum seekers.

In the last two polls, the Social Democrats achieved nearly 26 percent support, while the Moderate Party received nearly 17 percent, the same as the SD.