In the Swedish general election, an opposition coalition of center-left parties is projected to secure a majority of the vote, foreign media outlets including Reuters reported yesterday (the 13th, local time).

According to an exit poll by Swedish public broadcaster SVT, the center-left coalition led by the Social Democratic Party won 51.3 percent of the vote, outpacing the incumbent right-wing ruling coalition, which lagged behind at 46.8 percent.

The left-wing bloc, fronted by former Prime Minister and Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson, campaigned on promises of expanding public spending, strengthening welfare, and supporting households struggling with inflation.

Meanwhile, the right-wing coalition led by incumbent Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson placed its focus on cracking down on organized crime, tightening immigration controls, and implementing tax cuts.

In particular, Prime Minister Kristersson drew significant attention by declaring that if the right-wing coalition won the general election, it would form a coalition government with the far-right Sweden Democrats—previously considered a taboo—and include members of the party in the cabinet.

For this reason, the election was viewed as a de facto referendum on the current ruling right-wing government's coalition ties with the far-right party.

Attention focused on whether far-right parties, which are gaining ground as mainstream forces in major European countries such as Germany and France under anti-immigrant platforms, could maintain their momentum in Sweden, long considered one of the most progressive nations in the West.

The Sweden Democrats stumbled in the SVT exit poll, capturing 17.2 percent of the vote, which fell short of their performance four years ago.

Four years ago, the Sweden Democrats caused a sensation by winning 20.6 percent of the vote, emerging as Sweden's second-largest party right behind the Social Democrats.

The Social Democrats, who lost power to the right-wing coalition four years ago, are projected to become the party with the most votes, winning 28.4 percent in the exit poll.

If their victory is confirmed, former Prime Minister Andersson is expected to rally the center-left coalition and begin forming a coalition government.

Meanwhile, until mid-August, the center-left coalition had been leading the Swedish general election by a margin of about 10 percentage points, but a fierce late surge by the right-wing coalition made the race an ultra-tight contest.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)