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Sweden election race tightens as Liberals make parliament threshold, poll shows

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STOCKHOLM, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Sweden's ruling right-wing bloc has closed in further on the centre-left opposition ahead of ​Sunday's general election, according to a fresh ‌opinion poll by Novus that shows the Liberals party making parliament's 4% threshold for the first time in ​years.

While earlier polls have pointed to near-certain ​victory for the opposition headed by Social Democrats ⁠leader Magdalena Andersson, the latest surveys show that ​the government of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, in office ​since 2022, may still win.

The Novus poll, published on Monday by commercial broadcaster TV4, indicated 50.3% backing for the ​four centre-left parties while the three-party government and its ​support party, the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, stood at 47.9%.

The gap ‌between ⁠the blocs was 0.2 percentage points smaller than in Novus' previous poll.

Junior coalition party the Liberals rose to 4.3% from 3.3%, clearing the threshold ​needed to win ​seats and ⁠easing fears the party could lose its 16 seats and the coalition ​its majority.

 

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

Novus polled 2,888 voters between September 1 and ​September 5.