Sweden's election tightens with 11 days to go, TV4 poll shows

OSLO, Sept 2 - Sweden's ruling right-wing coalition has nearly caught up with the centre-left opposition bloc ahead of a September 13 election for parliament, a new opinion poll showed on Wednesday, pointing to a close vote in which either side could win.

The country's four centre-left parties held a combined 50.3% backing, while the coalition government stood at 47.7%, according to the August 24-30 survey of 2,984 voters conducted for TV4 by polling firm Novus.

The gap of 2.6 percentage point, down from 6.9 points in the previous Novus poll, was within the margin of error and the smallest divide of any voter survey published this year.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, in office since 2022, is fighting for re-election in the vote, which until now has looked like a near-certain win for Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson.

Only two weeks ago the centre-left held a 10 percentage point lead in a poll by a different agency, which political scientists at the time said was a near-insurmountable gap to bridge before election day.

The election has focused on maintaining Sweden's government-funded welfare state, including its health care and schools, as well as cost of living issues and security, immigration and energy supply.

But the centre-left remains divided over which parties should be included in a government headed by the Social Democrats, with the Centre Party and the Left Party each ruling out taking part if the other is in.

This may in turn lead to lengthy negotiations and the formation of a minority government including some, but not all, opposition parties of the left wins.

The Liberal Party, a member of the right-wing government, polled 3.3%, falling short of the 4% threshold needed to secure seats in parliament but still its best showing in months, in a boost for the ruling coalition. REUTERS