Any score above 20% could make it impossible for center-left or center-right parties to form a stable coalition. While they have long disavowed their far-right roots, the Sweden Democrats have campaigned for a de-facto ban on accepting new asylum seekers and the faster deportation of illegal immigrants. The center-right Moderate party is vying for second place with the Sweden Democrats. Yet while such openness enjoyed broad acceptance among the main political parties, it was never backed by a majority of the population, said Patrik Ohberg, a political scientist at Gothenburg University. Mattias Karlsson, parliamentary leader for the Sweden Democrats, said despite rival parties’ backtracking on immigration, voters remained disillusioned.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 09, 2018 06:22 UTC