The recent Swedish general election has delivered a narrow victory for the Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson and her progressive coalition, providing a rare positive development for center-left parties in a challenging European political climate. The election, held last Sunday, was closely watched as a potential turning point amid the rising influence of far-right movements across the continent.

Outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had explicitly signaled that if his right-wing alliance secured the largest number of seats, he would invite members of the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) party to join the government as ministers. Such a move would have marked the formal end of the SD’s longstanding political isolation, after four years of informal parliamentary support to Kristersson’s minority administration. This step would have represented a significant shift in European politics, where efforts to keep far-right parties out of government have increasingly come under strain.

However, voters delivered a slimmer-than-expected win to Andersson and her bloc, with the SD experiencing a slight decline in their share of the vote for the first time since their emergence in the late 1980s as an openly neo-Nazi party. The Sweden Democrats also fell to third place behind the conservative Moderates.

Despite this outcome, the influence of the far right remains evident in Swedish politics. Kristersson’s reliance on the Sweden Democrats resulted in a government characterized by strict immigration policies, including harsher deportation measures and tightened citizenship rules. Andersson’s response has been to adopt a somewhat more moderate stance on immigration and asylum, though critics note this has contributed to her party’s lowest vote share in over a century, as some left-wing voters migrated toward other options.

The election underscores a broader European trend whereby far-right parties shape political agendas even without formally holding power. The Sweden Democrats ran on a nationalist campaign slogan, “Make Sweden Sweden again,” echoing rhetoric that emphasizes ethnocentric themes. Following the election, some members of the far right have attributed the narrow loss of the right-wing bloc to foreign-born voters, further illustrating the divisive tone in contemporary Swedish discourse.

If Andersson is able to form a center-left coalition government, political observers emphasize the importance of reviving inclusive policies rooted in the Social Democratic tradition of Folkhemmet—Sweden’s “People’s Home” concept that promotes a welfare state built on solidarity and social justice. Reimagining this vision for the 21st century may be key to addressing the challenges posed by rising nationalism and providing an appealing alternative that unites rather than divides Swedish society. The election result offers cautious optimism but also highlights the urgent need for progressive parties in Sweden and across Europe to more boldly redefine the political debate.