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Election advertising on a bus in Stockholm: The right-wing Sweden Democrats advertise with their top candidate Jimmie Åkesson
Photo: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP
It does happen that a politician breaks a promise.
However, the result of the Swedish general election could become the touchstone for a particular pledge.
In 2018, Ulf Kristersson, leader of the conservative moderates, looked Auschwitz survivor Hédi Fried in the eye and assured her that he would never cooperate with the far-right Sweden Democrats.
In the past four years, however, a change has taken place in the Swedish Riksdagen, the Reichstag, that can be described as historic: Cooperation with the right-wing extremists is no longer taboo for many parties.
Both Kristersson's Moderates and the Christian Democrats have signaled their willingness to negotiate with the Sweden Democrats.
And even the liberals have recently backed away from their negative stance.
Whether there will actually be negotiations between the parties will be decided after this Sunday.
On September 11, the Swedes will elect a new parliament.
A good seven million people are entitled to vote, and a large proportion of them traditionally make use of this right.
In the most recent vote in 2018, turnout was more than 80 percent.
Eight parties have the chance to jump over the four percent hurdle and enter parliament.
There are two opposing political camps: on the one hand, the left-wing bloc with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats, the liberal Center Party, the Left and the Greens.
On the other side the right-wing bloc with the moderates, the liberals and the Christian Democrats as well as the extreme right-wing Sweden Democrats.
According to surveys, a tight race between right and left is emerging this year.
If the right-wing bloc gains a majority, it could mark a historic turning point for the country.
Roots in the Swedish neo-Nazi scene
For the first time in Sweden's history, the Sweden Democrats could become part of the government.
The party has its roots in the Swedish neo-Nazi scene and was founded in 1988.
The Sweden Democrats have been in parliament since the 2010 elections.
Party leader Jimmie Åkesson called the country's Muslims "Sweden's greatest threat since World War II."
For the right block, his party could become a kingmaker.
However, a supporting party in Sweden does not have to be part of the governing coalition.
You can also support a minority government and vote in their favor when making a decision.
However, Åkesson has already made it clear that he has different ideas about his party's future role in Swedish politics.
According to him, the Sweden Democrats should definitely be part of a right-wing governing coalition, and he is already eyeing the post of prime minister.
If the right-wing extremists do better than the conservatives in the elections, "the rules of the game in Swedish politics would change completely," he announced.
A conceivable scenario, as a look at the polls shows: The Sweden Democrats are currently the second strongest force there.
In doing so, they have overtaken the largest opposition party of the moderates to date.
The Social Democrats are still ahead in the polls by a clear margin.
You were last told 29 percent of the votes.
However, if you look at the survey results of the two competing blocks as a whole, they are almost on par.
The results of the election on Sunday are awaited with corresponding excitement.
Gang crime instead of climate crisis
The election campaign only picked up speed towards the end of the summer.
Neither the climate crisis nor the planned NATO membership play a major role.
On the latter, however, the parties were almost in agreement.
All but the Greens and the Left voted to join the military alliance.
Instead, the election campaign is dominated by issues where the opposition can convince the voters more.
Polls see the grievances in the healthcare system as the issue that worries voters the most.
Right after that, order and security follow.
Hardly anything gets as much attention in the election campaign as gang crime in the country.
Hardly a day goes by in Sweden without a shootout between rival criminal groups.
By mid-August this year, 46 people had already been killed.
Above all, this development seems to be responsible for the influx of voters among the right-wing extremists.
They advertise with anti-immigrant resentments, call for tightening of immigration laws and harsher penalties.
Prime Minister Andersson also presented an action plan against gang crime in August.
Your party is already approaching the more restrictive positions of the right-wing bloc.
But the voters see the strengths of the Social Democrats more in the areas of health, schools and education.
The Social Democrats are also under pressure when it comes to the ubiquitous topic of rising energy prices.
For a long time, Sweden had the cheapest electricity prices in Europe.
However, the costs have risen sharply due to the war in Ukraine.
Andersson took measures shortly before the election to relieve the burden on the citizens.
The opposition still blames them for the price explosion.
While the right mobilizes primarily against the government's measures and offers little content themselves, the Social Democrats are conducting a largely personalized election campaign.
Andersson enjoys great popularity in the country and is the focus of the campaign.
Last year she was the first woman to take over the office of prime minister.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven had previously resigned from office.
Since then, Sweden has been governed by a social-democratic minority government.
Such a constellation is considered unlikely after the elections.
However, the country faces a complicated formation of government regardless of which bloc is ahead on Sunday night.
The coalition negotiations could drag on for months.
As a precaution, Andersson has already announced that she does not want to rule out cooperation with any party – she only does not want to enter into discussions with the far-right Sweden Democrats.