# Swedish PM resigns after narrow election loss

> Ulf Kristersson steps down as his right-wing coalition loses to the centre-left opposition by just 50,000 votes.
- Title: Swedish PM resigns after narrow election loss · BBC News
- Summary: Ulf Kristersson steps down as his right-wing coalition loses to the centre-left opposition by just 50,000 votes. Sweden's centre-left Social Democrats…
- Keywords: ulf kristersson, sweden, prime minister resignation, general election, social democrats, magdalena andersson, sweden democrats, right-wing bloc, centre-left opposition, riksdag, coalition government, news
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxr50l3d762po
- Published: 2026-09-17T12:04:27.498+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ulf kristersson, sweden, prime minister resignation, general election, social democrats, magdalena andersson, sweden democrats, right-wing bloc, centre-left opposition, riksdag, coalition government, news
## Swedish PM resigns after election loss
Ulf Kristersson announced his resignation after his right-wing coalition lost to the centre-left opposition by about 50,000 votes in Sweden's general election on Sunday.

> Now it is the speaker who will lead the next stage of the way to a new government.
## Opposition set to win parliament majority
The centre-left bloc led by Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson is expected to win 176 seats in Sweden's 349-seat parliament, compared to 173 for Kristersson's right-wing coalition.

> The Swedish people have voted for a new direction for our country
## Sweden Democrats lose support for first time
The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, which had been part of Kristersson's coalition, lost support for the first time since entering parliament in 2010, dropping three percentage points from 2022.
## Coalition talks could take weeks or months
Andersson must now negotiate with three other opposition parties to form a government. Previous Swedish coalitions took 37 days in 2022 and 134 days in 2018 to form.
## Sweden Democrats rebranded from extremist roots
The Sweden Democrats were founded by Nazi sympathisers in the 1980s but rebranded since the mid-2000s, becoming mainstream by 2022 on a campaign focused on immigration and crime.
## Key takeaway

Sweden's centre-left Social Democrats narrowly defeated the ruling right-wing bloc, forcing PM Kristersson to resign and triggering coalition negotiations that could take weeks or months.