Deadlock With a Price Tag: a Swedish Snap Election Would Cost Over 630 Million Kronor

Over 630 million kronor. That is what Sweden would pay to send voters back to the polls, according to a rough new estimate from the Election Authority, Valmyndigheten, reported by SVT on Friday 16 October.

The authority’s own bill would be about 193 million kronor. The largest slice, about 353 million, would land on the municipalities that run polling stations and count the votes. The county administrative boards would pay the rest. The figure is a rough calculation, not a budget, but it is the first official price tag on the stalemate that has gripped Stockholm since the September election.

“Det har gått en månad sen valet och regeringsbildningen är fortsatt inte klar. Om allt kör fast så kan ett extraval bli aktuellt.”

“A month has passed since the election and the formation of a government is still not done. If everything stalls, a snap election could come into play.”

— SVT Nyheter, reporting Valmyndigheten’s new estimate

Three votes left before the automatic trigger

The number arrives one day after the Riksdag voted down Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson as prime minister, 99 votes to 248. Only her own party backed her. Under Swedish rules the Speaker can put up to four candidates to a vote. If all four fail, a snap election is called automatically. Three attempts remain.

That is the scenario the right is now counting on. A recent poll suggested the right-wing bloc would win a new election, while the parties that talk about a red-green majority still cannot agree who sits in government. Swedish commentator @fouadyoucefi shared the cost figure on X as the talks dragged on. For voters, the message is blunt: every failed vote brings a 630-million-kronor bill a step closer.