Sweden's Tidö parties now hold only 174 seats in parliament after former SD MPs Elsa Widding and Katja Nyberg announced they will vote with the opposition on certain issues. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's government is fully dependent on the two independents in key votes. Sverigedemokraterna accuses the Greens of buying the votes, which MP and the independents deny.
Sweden's parliament requires 175 seats for a majority. The Tidö parties – Moderaterna, Kristdemokraterna, Liberalerna, and Sverigedemokraterna – won 176 seats in the election. Even after Elsa Widding and Katja Nyberg left SD, the majority held as they signalled support for Tidö.
Last week they changed course. They voted with the opposition on transitional rules for the new citizenship law, a vote Tidö would otherwise have lost. Tidö can now count on only 174 seats, making any united opposition a challenge for the government.
Sverigedemokraterna staged a "coup" by lying about two MPs' absence, breaking the traditional compensation system where absences are balanced between blocs. The system is now damaged, requiring all MPs to attend votes. SD group leader Linda Lindberg demands a new system including nine independents to secure the election result.
Jimmie Åkesson accused Greens' Annika Hirvonen in SVT's Agenda of "buying" Widding and Nyberg's votes. "These are completely baseless lies", Hirvonen replied. Widding confirmed Hirvonen called to highlight the vote but denied any deal. Nyberg called the claim "completely incorrect".
Elsa Widding has signalled openness to voting against Tidö on issues like lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13 and parts of the spring amendment budget. Åkesson calls it undemocratic for MPs not to follow party lines, though similar cases have occurred historically in Swedish politics.
