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Sweden's government could get 2nd term
Source: Agencies |
September 20, 2010, Monday
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SWEDES voted for a new parliament yesterday with polls showing the center-right government heading for a historic second term unless an Islam-bashing far-right group spoils its majority.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's center-right coalition has been boosted by popular tax cuts and healthy public finances that stand out in debt-ridden Europe, and polls suggest a clear victory over the Social Democrat-led opposition.
That would mark a shift in Swedish politics - no center-right government has ever been re-elected after serving a full term in a country dominated since the 1930s by the left-wing Social Democrats.
Reinfeldt's parliamentary majority, however, is under threat from the Sweden Democrats, a small anti-immigration party hoping to play kingmaker in the 349-seat legislature. The Sweden Democrats, who demand sharp cuts in immigration and have called Islam Sweden's biggest foreign threat since World War II, are seeking their first seats in parliament.
The last polls before the election suggested Reinfeldt's majority could remain by a single seat. But growing support for the far-right could lead to a hung Parliament, because both blocs have ruled out governing with the Sweden Democrats.
"We have appealed to the Swedish people to be farsighted and responsible and vote clearly for the possibility to continue with a majority government," Reinfeldt said.
Large waves of immigration from the Balkans, Iraq and Iran have changed the demography of the once-homogenous Scandinavian country, where one in seven residents is foreign-born. The Sweden Democrats say immigration has become an economic burden that drains the welfare system.
Surveys, however, show Swedish voters are more concerned about unemployment - at 8.5 percent in July - the economy and the environment than immigration.
Reinfeldt's coalition ousted the Social Democrats in 2006 and kept its promises to lower taxes and trim welfare benefits. Sweden's export-driven economy is set to grow by more than 4 percent this year while its 2010 budget gap is on track to be the smallest in the 27-nation European Union.
The Electoral Authority said a record 2.2 million Swedes cast advance ballots before the vote, suggesting a high turnout.
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's center-right coalition has been boosted by popular tax cuts and healthy public finances that stand out in debt-ridden Europe, and polls suggest a clear victory over the Social Democrat-led opposition.
That would mark a shift in Swedish politics - no center-right government has ever been re-elected after serving a full term in a country dominated since the 1930s by the left-wing Social Democrats.
Reinfeldt's parliamentary majority, however, is under threat from the Sweden Democrats, a small anti-immigration party hoping to play kingmaker in the 349-seat legislature. The Sweden Democrats, who demand sharp cuts in immigration and have called Islam Sweden's biggest foreign threat since World War II, are seeking their first seats in parliament.
The last polls before the election suggested Reinfeldt's majority could remain by a single seat. But growing support for the far-right could lead to a hung Parliament, because both blocs have ruled out governing with the Sweden Democrats.
"We have appealed to the Swedish people to be farsighted and responsible and vote clearly for the possibility to continue with a majority government," Reinfeldt said.
Large waves of immigration from the Balkans, Iraq and Iran have changed the demography of the once-homogenous Scandinavian country, where one in seven residents is foreign-born. The Sweden Democrats say immigration has become an economic burden that drains the welfare system.
Surveys, however, show Swedish voters are more concerned about unemployment - at 8.5 percent in July - the economy and the environment than immigration.
Reinfeldt's coalition ousted the Social Democrats in 2006 and kept its promises to lower taxes and trim welfare benefits. Sweden's export-driven economy is set to grow by more than 4 percent this year while its 2010 budget gap is on track to be the smallest in the 27-nation European Union.
The Electoral Authority said a record 2.2 million Swedes cast advance ballots before the vote, suggesting a high turnout.
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