Opposition leader says Sweden needs 'new spirit of cooperation' as polls open

Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson said Sweden needs to "have a government, which will steer Sweden in a new spirit of cooperation".

She made the comments to journalists as she arrived to vote at a polling station in Nacka near Stockholm in a close general election that will see either the far-right enter the government for the first time or the left-wing opposition reclaim power. 

Andersson served as the country's prime minister from 2021 to 2022. Her campaign messaging frames her candidacy around stability, cross-bloc cooperation on critical issues such as energy, infrastructure, and crime prevention, and preventing the far-right from driving national governance.