Sweden holds election amid concerns over energy bills, crime

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Sweden is holding a national election on Sunday that comes as voters are growing increasingly concerned over rising energy bills and gang violence. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is well-liked but her Social Democratic Party is nervous because it faces a strong challenge from a right-wing populist party, the Sweden Democrats. Recent polls show the race is too close to predict. But the Sweden Democrats are clearly a rising force. That has led other parties in Sweden to move closer to the populist party’s hardline positions on immigration and crime.