Alliance lead, far-right in parliament: poll

Sifo’s August poll, published in several morning newspaper on Monday, shows that the Alliance hold a lead of 3.6 percentage points in comparison with 3.3 points in its previous poll last weekend. The slight change is however not categorized as statistically significant.

“The only thing one can be certain of is that it is very close between the blocs,” Toivo Sjörén, head of Sifo’s surveys, to the Svenska Dagbladet daily.

The Social Democrats crept up slightly to 31.3 percent, up from 30.6 percent and reclaiming their spot as the largest party, ahead of the Moderates on 30.5 percent.

14.1 percent of those surveyed responded that they either planned to submit a blank vote or have not yet decided how to vote, equating to 800,000 votes.

“This is an incredibly close election and we will fight to the last to gain renewed confidence,” said prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to news agency TT.

If an election were to be held today the far-right Sweden Democrats would not only claim seats in parliament, they would hold the balance of power between the blocs, the survey shows.

“We don’t know what is around the corner in the next mandate period. To secure a stable government is to secure the public finances and stability in the welfare system,” Reinfeldt said.