<p>Sweden&rsquo;s general election this weekend resulted in a tie between left and right factions, with the governing Social Democrats scoring ;the lowest in a century with only 28.4% of the vote and the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) winning an unprecedented 17.6%.</p>
<p>The election results reflect Swedes&rsquo; growing discontent with the changes brought on by the arrival of 163,000 Muslim immigrants. ;</p>
<p>Sweden, with a population comparable to that of metro Chicago, has taken in far more refugees per capita than any other country in Europe. Sweden ;is now struggling with shortages of doctors and teachers, long waits for operations, and an uptick in violent crime. ;</p>
<p>Muslim immigrants have caused huge disruptions to Sweden&#8217;s treasured welfare system. And while giving the SD more power could cause even more disruptions, it at least sends a clear message to those in power that they are ;losing control of the country. ;</p>
<p>Sweden&rsquo;s new government, which could take weeks to form, will necessitate cross-bloc alliances between the center-right and center-left or deals with the ;SD to pass legislation. ;</p>
<p>The SD, who have long been shunned by other parties for their extremist views, are already promising to wield &ldquo;real influence&rdquo; in Parliament.</p>
<p>Party leader ;Jimmie Å;kesson (pictured above) ;considers the 63 seats his party has in the 349-seat Parliament a victory. ;&ldquo;We will have an immense influence over what happens in Sweden in the coming weeks, months, years,&rdquo; he said. ;</p>
<p>Like the UK, Sweden has become accustomed to coalition governments and did not expect any party to win a majority this time. ;</p>
<p>The current coalition, led by Prime Minister Stefan Lö;fven, is comprised of his Social Democrats and the Green Party &#8211; with ad hoc support from the Left Party. Lö;fven&rsquo;s rivals are a center-right alliance made up of the Moderates, the Center, the Liberals, and the Christian Democrats. ;</p>
<p>Each ;side has roughly 40% of the vote, but neither has enough seats to govern on its own. Both have refused to govern alongside the SD.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The Sweden Democrats can never, and will never, offer anything that will help society,&rdquo; said Lö;fven. &ldquo;They will only increase division and hate.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Lö;fven, who will face a confidence vote in two weeks, said the two mainstream parties now had a &ldquo;moral responsibility&rdquo; to form a government. If Lö;fven is forced down, Parliament will be dissolved and fresh negotiations will begin.</p>
<p>Analysts predict Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson, who on Sunday called on Lö;fven to resign, will attempt to form a minority center-right government, possibly in coalition with the Christian Democrats and with implied support from the SD. Such an arrangement would give the anti-immigration party the opportunity to influence policy in exchange for votes. ;</p>
<p>Å;kesson has expressed interest in working with the other parties, but said he wanted to tell the Moderates &ldquo;how to govern the country.&rdquo; ;</p>