The 2014 Swedish election will result in a change of government, but not in a substantive change of policy

The Social Democrats have traditionally dominated politics in Sweden. However, since 2006 a major shift occurred in the Swedish party system which culminated in a centre-right alliance led by the Moderate Party coming to power. Niklas Bolin writes that while the centre-right alliance won an unprecedented second term in the 2010 parliamentary elections, their chances of repeating this success in the 2014 elections in September look remote, with two of the alliance’s members currently sitting below the four per cent electoral threshold in the polls. He notes however that even if a change of government occurs it is unlikely to lead to substantive policy change due to a strong policy consensus between the country’s mainstream parties.