• After the election, Sweden is in denial

Per Schlingmann, the whiz kid behind the victorious transformation of Sweden’s conservative Moderate Party, is stepping down as secretary-general.

Sofia Arkelsten becomes the new party secretary, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, head of the party, said in a surprise announcement on Friday morning, adding that that Schlingman would be moving on to other job, not yet specified.

40-year-old Per Schlingmann is described as a prominent figure in its political reorientation following the 2002 election defeat and leading to its 2006 election success. Reinfeldt and Schlingmann has been credited for having moved the party more towards the centre in Swedish politics, which is also reflected by its own claim of being the "New Moderates".

Schlingmann is also the brain behind the slogan “The only workers’ party”, a motto that has added to the crisis of the traditional labor party, the Social Democrats.

33-year-old Sofia Arkelsten has been in parliament since 2007 and has been a member of the Committee for Environment and Agriculture. She has served as the party's environment policy spokesperson. "We can be a bigger, broader and sharper party," she said during a press conference with Reinfeldt.

Fredrik Reinfeldt's centre-right coalition missed out on a parliamentary majority by two seats in the general election. Reinfeldt, whose bloc took 49.28 percent of the vote, must now seek alliances with leftwing opposition parties to form a government.