Sweden's parliament has narrowly elected a new prime minister whose government will be backed by a far-right party.

PM Ulf Kristersson's Moderates will form a centre-right coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals.

But it will govern with support from the Sweden Democrats (SD), who won a fifth of votes in recent polls.

Tougher immigration policies and greater police powers are part of a policy deal with the SD.

Mr Kristersson's three-party coalition government has also pledged to cut taxes and cap benefits.

SD leader Jimmie Akesson said the new government would mark a "paradigm shift" in immigration policy, which will be made up of "order, reason and common sense".

The SD was founded by Nazi sympathisers and had been shunned by the mainstream for decades.

But a focus during the election campaign on issues around immigration and violent crime have put the SD's agenda at the heart of mainstream Swedish politics like never before.

Swedish media outlets described this year's election campaign as one of the ugliest in history. A sharp rise in gun violence and gang crime led to opinion polls suggesting that crime was at the top of the agenda for many Swedes.

Founded in 1988, the SD struggled for two decades to win enough votes to elect any MPs at all. But since entering parliament in 2010, the party has increased its share of the vote in three successive elections and is now the second-largest party.

Green Party leader Per Bolund said the incoming government's policies were "authoritarian, conservative and nationalistic", bringing to an end eight years of a centre-left government led by the Social Democrats.

The general election on 11 September led to a narrow victory for right-wing parties and prompted the resignation of former prime minister Magdalena Andersson.

Source:
courtesy of BBC NEWS

by Malu Cursino

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