Sweden's upcoming election dominated by immigration and welfare spending

Record ID: 1355265

  • Title: Sweden's upcoming election dominated by immigration and welfare spending
  • Date: 7th September 2018
  • Summary: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (RECENT - AUGUST 27, 2018) (REUTERS) ELECTION CAMPAIGN BOOTHS IN CENTRE OF TOWN GREEN PARTY (LEFT), SOCIAL DEMOCRAT (MIDDLE) AND LEFT PARTY (RIGHT) CAMPAIGN BOOTHS VARIOUS OF LIBERAL PARTY CAMPAIGN BOOTH SOCIAL DEMOCRAT PARTY CAMPAIGN BOOTH STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (SEPTEMBER 3, 2018) (REUTERS) SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER AND LEADER OF THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ST
  • Embargoed: 21st September 2018 13:10
  • Keywords: general election Moderate party Social Democrats Sweden Democrats economy immigration
  • Location: STOCKHOLM AND SOLVESBORG, SWEDEN
  • City: STOCKHOLM AND SOLVESBORG, SWEDEN
  • Country: Sweden
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA0018WMPGZR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Campaigns ahead of Sweden's election on Sunday (September 9) have been dominated by immigration and its effect on the country's welfare system.
    Neither of Sweden's main political blocs is likely to win a majority in the parliamentary election, giving the far-right Sweden Democrats a key role in shaping the next government.
    Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's Social Democrats, currently heading up a minority coalition government, are campaigning on a promise to boost welfare spending if elected for another four-year term.
    The Alliance, which groups together four centre-right parties, including Ulf Kristersson's Moderate Party, promises income tax cuts and more spending on welfare.
    The far-right Sweden Democrats are campaigning on a platform of law and order and tighter policies on immigration.
    Polls suggest close to one in five of Sweden's voters are likely to back the party with roots in the far-right fringe, showing vulnerability in Sweden's mainstream political settlement.
    Several online surveys indicate the anti-immigration, anti-European Union Sweden Democrats could become the largest party, overtaking the Social Democrats who have dominated politics for the last 100 years.
    The Social Democrats and the centre-right Moderates, the biggest party in the Alliance, have both vowed to get tough on crime and keep in place temporary immigration restrictions introduced in 2015 when Sweden took in 163,000 asylum seekers as hundreds of thousands fled war in Syria and Afghanistan.
    A coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens, backed by the Left Party, is polling at around 40 percent. The polls put the Alliance, grouping the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, the Centre Party and the Liberals, on around 38 percent. The Sweden Democrats have just under 20 percent.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register