Sweden Rejects Far Right: Voters Deal Setback to Sweden Democrats

Sweden's far-right party lost voter support for the first time in 16 years, results showed Wednesday. The Sweden Democrats fell from the country's second-largest party to third. The election came just one week after Germany's far-right AfD party, classified as "extremist," neared power in a German state for the first time since the Nazi era. In Sweden, the Sweden Democrats have influenced government policy for four years without holding formal power. Their hardline agenda includes strict anti-immigration measures that critics call poisonous. Voters were still being counted Wednesday, but the trend was clear: enough Swedes chose to push back against far-right influence. The result offers a contrast to Germany's trajectory. It also raises a question for centrist leaders across Europe: will they take note?