What is the meaning of General Election ?

the parties cannot keep too low a profile in the opinion polls leading up to the election. That would mean a risk that those who might vote tactically will not do so because it could well be a wasted vote - that is to say, the party would still not achieve the four per cent threshold.

In the case of closed primaries, only party members can vote.

Being ousted from the Riksdag is of course extremely serious, and means that you lose both economic resources, in the form of a fall in party support, and media space. And although the organisation of each party may be regarded as well structured, there are worrying signs here too.

By contrast, in an open primary all voters may cast votes on a ballot of any party.

The Green Party has lost half of its membership since the government came to power, but now KD and L are small parties as well - factors that don’t bode well for these. At the same time, one can’t ignore the fact that the parties have been around for a long time and that their political profiles and political representatives are relatively well-known to the public.

By contrast, in an open primary all voters may cast votes on a ballot of any party.

if a party falls below the threshold, this will most likely mean more support for the opposition. This in turn would be of great significance to the forming of a new government.

However, the admission of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag and their increasing voter support means that the prospects of one of the traditional blocs gaining an overall majority are extremely small. Up until the current term of office, the established parties have still believed that it is the blocs that should form the basis for forming a government.

We now see that more parties are increasingly receptive to the idea of inter-bloc collaboration, even though the blocs are still presented as being the main alternatives. And indeed the traditional bloc system is the most feasible basis on which to form a government.

Another kind of collaboration which is considered inconceivable by many is a so-called grand coalition between S and M. That has never before been tested in Sweden, but is becoming an increasingly common configuration throughout Europe, partly as a consequence of the success of the right-wing populists.

Some have also spoken of a conservative bloc consisting of M, KD and SD. As things stand today, however, I see this as a less likely alternative.

It’s slightly paradoxical that the gains SD is expected to make in the 2018 general election compared to 2014 need not be that significant. Given that the party is already holding the balance of power between the blocs, the balance will not change.

It’s slightly paradoxical that the gains SD is expected to make in the 2018 general election compared to 2014 need not be that significant. Given that the party is already holding the balance of power between the blocs, the balance will not change.

Voters in the U.S. may head to the polls on Tuesdays, but the rest of the world prefers to save its votes for Sunday. Interestingly, countries in which English is the primary language tend to be the exception to this rule; in Canada, citizens vote on Mondays, while Brits vote on Thursdays, and Australians and New Zealanders on Saturdays.

The American vote wasn't always limited to Tuesdays by law; instead, it’s a holdover from the 19th century, when farmers were often forced to travel long distances to their polling stations, and needed enough time to make it back home in time for market day on Wednesday.