A sigh of relief caught in his throat Even Jimmie Åkesson must be worried

Ingvar Persson 

Published: Less than 20 min ago 

 

Aftonbladet's editorial page is independent social democratic.

 

 

Jimmie Åkesson emerges as the winner of the election. Photo: Stefan Jerrevång/TT 

 

LEADER 

 

Sweden, we have a result, or at least a forecast. If the preliminary results that the Swedish Electoral Authority just presented hold, Ulf Kristersson will lead the Swedish government for the next four years. 

 

A large part of the nation breathed a sigh of relief when SVT was able to present the figures from its large polling station survey at exactly eight o'clock. It did not only apply to liberals and environmentalists, who against all odds, but completely in accordance with the tradition of Swedish politics, seem to clear the barrier. 

 

Nor did the sigh of relief come only from social democrats, centrists, leftists or environmentalists. It is clear that party members and others felt a sense of relief when the scales seemed to tip in Magdalena Andersson's direction with the smallest possible margin. It was exactly what was campaigned for and hoped for. 

 

Far into bourgeois ranks 

 

But we suspect that also quite a few bourgeois voters could actually feel a stone falling from their shoulders. Voters who voted for the Liberals, the Christian Democrats or the Moderates. 

 

Moderate and Christian Democratic voters have also probably felt a concern about what will happen if Sweden were to be led by a government that is completely dependent on the Sweden Democrats. That concern has hardly lessened when more and more people were talking about the Sweden Democrats taking over the role as the country's second largest party. 

 

Now that is exactly the election result we seem to be getting. Ulf Kristersson will try to form a government that will be entirely dependent on Jimmie Åkesson. It is not a dream seat for traditional bourgeois voters. And it is certainly not a dream situation for Sweden. 

 

The big loser 

 

Maybe the election's real loser is Johan Pehrson after all. He did manage to save his party in the Riksdag, but at what cost. How will the voters of the liberals react when their votes become the prerequisite for opening the doors of power for the Sweden Democrats? 

 

During the evening, there was a lot of talk about the upcoming government formation. With the experience from 2018, it goes without saying. Governing with the support of the Sweden Democrats, the Liberals and the Christian Democrats will be a challenge for Ulf Kristersson. 

 

Nevertheless, it may be the least of the incoming government's problems. The reality of rampant prices and reduced growth at the same time, with a major war in Europe and with the effects of the entire climate crisis will be the real challenge for Ulf Kristersson's government. 

 

Perhaps the sigh of relief even stuck in the throat of the winner of the election, Jimmie Åkesson.