THE Swedish Green Party has secured 6.8% in the country’s national election and is set for talks with the Social Democrats about entering a centre-left coalition government. Final election results are expected on 20th September 2014.
With the Swedish Greens on course to take seats in government, Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green party of England and Wales, said:
"I'd like to offer my congratulations to the Swedish Green Party for their strong result in yesterday's national election, which follows their excellent result in the European election.
"The defeat of the centre-right government, with the Red-Green group winning clearly the largest share of the vote, marks a further step of an international shift against the ideology of Thatcher and Reagan, which has now clearly failed.
"Voters are recognising - in Britain, Sweden, and elsewhere – that privatisation and deregulation, austerity and cuts to public services, and acceptance of soaring inequality are not delivering an economy that works for the common good, or that it is even possible to sustain, as our increasingly regular financial crashes demonstrate."
Bennett added:
"The level of the vote of the far-right Sweden Democrats is disturbing. It reflects the fact that not enough has been done to confront anti-immigrant rhetoric, something that's particularly true of the UK. All parties should be making it clear to voters that government policies are responsible for many of the issues affecting their lives, from low wages and unaffordable housing to crowded and stretched public services, not immigration. Confronting anti-immigration rhetoric, rather than pandering to it, is essential."