SWEDEN: Swedish Prime Minister Cancels Snap Election.

Speaking at a news conference in Stockholm, [Prime Minister Stefan] Löfven identified three areas–pensions, defense and energy–where the government and the opposition would seek common ground on policy. Finding common ground would make it easier for the minority government to push its economic policy through parliament and get at least passive support from the opposition, potentially avoiding a recurrence of the political turbulence Sweden suffered this fall.

The agreement implies that the opposition would abstain where necessary to allow the government to get its budget approved by parliament.

Related commentary: “The snap election was cancelled because the formerly conservative opposition agreed to roll over and blindly adopt socialism.”

Sweden Democrats’ continued success in the polls is obviously one of the main reasons that Stefan Löfven made a 180-degree turn and reneged on his promised snap election. There was a risk that some of the conservative parties would get kicked out of parliament and the Sweden Democrats would strengthen its position.

However, this is an extremely short-term perspective. By jumping into bed with the Social Democrats and the Green Party[,] . . . the established political parties cemented the image that the Sweden Democrats have long tried to maintain: The Sweden Democrats is the only opposition party.