Right-wing bloc wins narrow majority in Swedish parliament

By JAN M. OLSEN and VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A right-wing bloc that includes a nationalist anti-immigration party has won a narrow majority in Sweden’s parliament. It’s a major political shift in the Scandinavian country that had a decades-long history of welcoming refugees, but is grappling with a crime wave linked with immigration. Center-left Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson conceded defeat with 99.9% of the vote from the weekend elections counted Wednesday. She said she would step down Thursday. Populist Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson declared victory for the four-party bloc. He said his party would be “a constructive and driving force” in the work of rebuilding safety in Sweden. He said it was “time to put Sweden first.”