Swedish Centre-Left Bloc Secures Slim Majority

The completed count in Sweden’s parliamentary election has this week given the opposition bloc led by Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson a narrow majority, with 176 seats to 173 for the outgoing right-wing bloc. The result remains subject to formal certification.

A new government has yet to be formed, but the result could alter the political climate around cultural funding and artistic independence. Much will depend on the government Andersson is able to form: the Centre Party and Left Party remain divided over the shape of any coalition.

At the opening of the Göteborg Film Festival in January 2025, then culture minister Parisa Liljestrand faced boos from sections of the audience after a speech in which she made clear that she did not see it as her role to be the film industry’s “best friend”. The remarks came amid criticism of the government’s cultural and film policies and became a major talking point at the festival. Earlier that month, at the Guldbagge Awards, Sweden’s national film prizes, speeches and jokes addressed government policy and wider political issues. More than 100 complaints were made to Sweden’s broadcasting regulator over the ceremony’s SVT broadcast, although it was ultimately cleared of breaching impartiality and objectivity rules.

The outgoing government’s cultural agenda also included a “national cultural canon”, an initiative agreed with the far-right Sweden Democrats, which supported Kristersson’s minority government from outside cabinet under the Tidö Agreement. Presented in 2025 as a list of 100 works and cultural phenomena, the canon drew criticism, including from the Swedish Academy and representatives of national minorities, over its exclusions and definition of Swedish culture. Earlier this year, the government instructed Sweden’s National Agency for Education to examine how the canon could be incorporated into schools.

Outgoing prime minister Ulf Kristersson had in 2018 promised not to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats, but later relied on the party’s parliamentary support to govern. Ahead of this year’s election, he said the party would enter government for the first time if his bloc won.

The Social Democrats have instead proposed a cultural guarantee giving children in preschool and compulsory education at least one cultural experience each term, alongside increased support for regional culture and folkbildning, Sweden’s system of popular adult education and study associations. The party has argued that government cuts to the sector have particularly threatened cultural provision outside the country’s major cities.

Public-service broadcasting is another likely fault line. The Social Democrats have pledged to seek constitutional protection for public service and compensate SVT for increased terrestrial transmission costs, arguing that its independence and reach need greater protection.