DOMINANT ANGLE
Moscow believes that a potential victory for Magdalena Andersson would not call into question Sweden's accession to NATO or military aid to Kiev, two issues already settled under the outgoing coalition of Ulf Kristersson.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to TASS, exit polls by SVT and TV4 give 51.3% of the vote to the opposition versus 46.8-47% to the outgoing coalition.
- 02
RT cites preliminary results from the Swedish Electoral Authority: 176 seats for the opposition versus 173 for the Kristersson-Democrats of Sweden coalition, out of 349 seats in the Riksdag.
- 03
RT recalls that under the outgoing coalition, Stockholm provided nearly $16 billion in military and other aid to Kiev since Sweden's accession to NATO in 2024.
ANALYSIS
Moscow, September 15, 2026. Russian agencies are closely following the Swedish legislative election held last Sunday, September 13, 2026, where the opposition bloc led by the Social Democrats of Magdalena Andersson is slightly ahead of the outgoing coalition of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. According to TASS, citing exit polls from SVT and TV4, the four opposition parties would receive 51.3% of the vote against 46.8% to 47% for the ruling parties. Interfax, relaying The Guardian, reports similar figures - 51.3% and 183 seats for the opposition against 47% and 166 seats for the outgoing coalition - and notes that Andersson's party alone would receive 28.4% of the vote.
RT then cites the preliminary results of the Swedish Electoral Authority published on Monday: 176 seats for the opposition against 173 for the coalition led by Kristersson's Moderates and their far-right partners, the Sweden Democrats, out of the 349 seats in the Riksdag - 175 being needed to form a government. The channel recalls that this election is the first since Stockholm renounced its historical neutrality to join NATO in 2024, citing security concerns related to the Ukrainian conflict.
Noted by RT: before the 2022 vote, won by a narrow margin by Kristersson, Andersson's Social Democrats were perceived as the main obstacle to Sweden's membership in the Atlantic Alliance - which did not prevent Stockholm, under the outgoing coalition, from providing Kiev with nearly $16 billion in military and other aid. Russian media therefore notes that a return of the left to power would likely not call into question this line, nor the migration crackdown implemented by Kristersson, which has made Sweden one of the countries with the strictest asylum rules in Europe. RT emphasizes that the migration issue weighs heavily in this election, with around 17% of Swedish voters, or 1.34 million people, born outside the country.
RT quotes Andersson saying on Sunday evening: "If this result is confirmed, Sweden will have a new government," while Kristersson says he wants to "take things calmly" until the final results, expected on Wednesday, September 16, after the counting of overseas votes.
