Gov’t expected to talk to opposition party in Sweden, rejecting alliance with far-right group

Sweden’s govt rejects any ties with far right

STOCKHOLM — Experts say Sweden’s center-right governing coalition will negotiate with an opposition party after neither major bloc secured a majority in parliament and both ruled out working with the far-right party that holds the balance of power.

Political scientist Stig-Bjorn Ljunggren on Monday said Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is expected to enter talks with the opposition Green Party after his four-party coalition won 172 seats in the 349-seat legislature.

The left-green opposition took 157 seats in Sunday’s election, but the Islam-bashing Sweden Democrats held the balance of power after winning 5.7 percent of the votes for 20 seats.

The Sweden Democrats want sharp cuts in immigration and have called Islam Sweden’s biggest foreign threat since World War II.