Sweden Election: Mainstream political parties hold their own as nationalists gain ground

On Sunday, the citizens of Sweden took to the polls. The election had gained an especially large amount of worldwide attention. This has been due to the rise of the Sweden Democrats political party. Associated with the populist movement, it is anti-immigration and anti-European Union. Having long been linked to neo-Nazis, an effort has been made to re-brand to controversial party.

The Sweden Democrats have been ostracized from alliances held between the other major political parties. As such, short of gaining an outright majority in Parliament, it was unlikely the party would ascend to power. However, it was very possible that their influence could grow exponentially.

The biggest mainstream parties hold their own, though the Sweden Democrats had the biggest jump in seats

The left-leaning Swedish Social Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, won the most seats Sunday. Coming in second, was the right-leaning Moderate Party, led by Ulf Kristersson. The Sweden Democrats ultimately landed in a distant third.

However, their increase of 20 seats in Parliament has shown that they are a legitimate force in the country.

As Reuters reports, Sweden has taken in the most refugees of any European country since 2015. This has been overwhelming to some residents, leading to significant polarization.

Thought the two main parties lost seats, some of their allies in Parliament made gains. The Left Party, aligned with the Social Democrats, gained seven seats. The Centre Party and the Christian Democrats, both associated with Moderate Party, picked up a combined 16 seats. Another ally of the Social Democrats in the Green Party also lost ground. The Liberals, a fourth part of the alliance led by the Moderates, came out even.

Parliamentary leadership is currently uncertain

A two-seat difference ultimately separates the two alliances. Under different circumstances, the Sweden Democrats would be in an ideal position. Their numbers would be more than enough for either side to form a governing coalition. The party's leader, Jimmie Akesson, has expressed his eagerness to participate in negotiations to be in such as coalition.

However, the other parties likely want nothing to do with the Sweden Democrats. Both the conservative and the liberal blocs have refused to form a coalition with the party, as the BBC reports. Analysts have indicated that the conservative coalition is most likely to control the government.