Far-right gains ground in Sweden

Source Al Jazeera

An anti-immigration party in Sweden has won seats in parliament for the first time, in the latest sign that far-right parties are gaining ground in Europe. The Sweden Democrats (SD), who have described Islam as the country's biggest foreign threat since the second world war, won 20 seats in Sunday's parliamentary elections, leaving the two main parties without a majority. Both the center-right governing coalition and the opposition Social Democrats have ruled out any negotiations with the far-right group, instead looking to the Green Party for support. "I have been clear... We will not cooperate with or be made dependent on the Sweden Democrats," Fredrik Reinfeldt, the prime minister and leader of the ruling coalition, said after winning 172 seats in the 349-seat parliament, just three short of a majority. "We have received broad support tonight."