Sweden's PM to Bring Far-Right Party into Government

0:00It's April 1st. Welcome in. This is Canada News Today, where local news meets AI. I'm Cory with the story. Sweden's Prime Minister, Ulf Christerson, just dropped a big shift in politics. He announced his center-right moderate party will bring the Sweden Democrats into the government if they snag a right-wing majority in the September. 13th election. Right now, his coalition leans on their support and parliament, but keeps them out of cabinet seats. The Sweden Democrats started in the 1980s with ties to extremists, but under leader Jimmy Okassan since 2005, they've cleaned up their image and searched to become the second-largest party. They pulled 20.5% of the vote in the 2022 election, topping even Christerson's own group, all while pushing a tough. Stance on immigration. This move echoes the rise of populist right-wing parties across Europe. Last month, the Liberals and the government flipped their stance too, saying they'd accept Sweden Democrats in a future cabinet that paved the way for this announcement.

1:02Christerson and Okassan held a joint news conference this week, calling the Liberals' decision a game-changer. Christerson stays the Prime Minister pick, even if his rivals outvote him, and the Sweden Democrats would take key roles on migration policy. With crises like Russia's war in Ukraine hitting hard, Christerson says, Sweden needs a strong team now, more than ever. Eyes are on that fall vote to see if this alliance locks in.