Andersson responds to debate over immigrant-background voters after Sweden election
Magdalena Andersson has responded to the post-election debate over voters with immigrant backgrounds after comments by Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson.
Euro Times – Stockholm
Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson has entered the post-election debate over the votes of people with immigrant backgrounds, responding to comments by Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson about the Left Party’s gains.
Åkesson said the Left Party, and also the Social Democrats, had been successful in mobilising what he described as “Islamist votes”. Andersson rejected that framing and told SVT that questioning some voters’ ballots amounted, in her view, to questioning their equal human worth.
Post-election debate
The exchange comes amid a broader debate about voting patterns after Sweden’s 2026 election, including strong results for the Left Party and Social Democrats in several districts with large immigrant populations.
Andersson stressed the democratic principle of equal voting rights, while Åkesson linked part of the Left Party’s increase to voters he characterised as Islamists.
Government formation under way
The dispute comes as Sweden begins the process of forming a new government. Speaker Andreas Norlén has tasked Andersson with exploring whether she can assemble a government that can be tolerated by parliament.
The preliminary seat distribution cited by SVT gives S, V, MP and C 176 seats, compared with 173 for M, SD, KD and L.