Bono was seen making a Nazi salute during a U2 concert in Paris, as he mocked the leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats party in the wake of the country's general election.

Performing as his 'evil alter ego' Mr MacPhisto, Bono shouted the name of SD leader Jimmie Åkesson while throwing his right arm out, after congratulating Sweden for discovering their 'Aryan potential'.

Åkesson's anti-immigrant SD party won 17.6 per cent of the vote, leaving Sweden in political deadlock with neither mainstream block strong enough to form a government.

The country is now facing weeks - if not months - of political uncertainty and complex coalition talks, as all other parties have refused to govern alongside SD.

Hitler comparison: Bono was seen making a Nazi salute on stage during U2's concert in Paris on Sunday, as he mocked Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson

Alter ego: Bono made fun of the increased support for the far-right in Sweden while performing as his 'evil alter ego' Mr McPhisto

Video footage shows the U2 frontman making the unmistakable Hitler-comparison in between songs during the band's Experience + Innocence Tour gig in the French capital on Sunday.

Bono is seen speaking into a camera which applies a digital clown mask onto his face on the big screen behind him, transforming him into Mr MacPhisto - a devil parody character he first invented during U2's Zoo TV Tour in the 1990s.

In character as Mr MacPhisto, Bono says: 'I'm just back from Sweden. I didn't know how much I'd like the Swedish.

'Tall, blond, blue eyed... boring. But now the Swedes are beginning to discover their Aryan potential.

He then shouted: 'Akesson! Jimmie Akesson!,' while performing a Nazi salute.

'I like him, I like him, he has done so well in the election today,' he added. 'I love elections. I love balloons. I love parties that get out of hand.'

Far-right boost: Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Akesson speaks to the media the day after his party won 17.6 per cent in the general election

Young members and supporters of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats react to the results of the exit polls at their party election centre in Stockholm on Sunday evening

Celebrations: Sweden Democrats politicians and supporters cheer as the results come on in Sunday evening, which saw them increase their support from 12.9 per cent to 17.6 per cent

Bono's Mr MacPhisto appeared to mock not just Akesson, but the rise in support for the far-right in Sweden, where SD - which has its roots in neo-Nazi organisations - was the most popular party among male voters.

One in four Swedish men voted for SD, compared to just 14 per cent of women, according to the VALU exit poll.

Did she Nazi that coming? Swede's name change denied A woman in southern Sweden has had her request to change her name to Nazi denied. The woman in Tyringe, Hässleholm in Scania county had applied to change her first name by deed poll. However, the 28-year-old had her application denied on the grounds that Nazi 'is the short form of national-socialism, and is associated with Nazism supporters.' Advertisement

The VALU exit poll has been carried out by Swedish public service TV since 1991. In the 2010 VALU, SD won five per cent of the male vote and in 2014, 16 per cent.

This year, 24 per cent of men said they had voted for SD, compared to 19 per cent for the Moderates and 23 per cent for the current ruling party; The Social Democrats.

With 143 versus 144 seats in the 379 seat Parliament, neither the centre-right Alliance - made up of the Moderates, the Centre Party, the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats - nor a centre-left coalition - Social Democrats, the Greens and Left Party - have mandate to rule.

The Sweden Democrats' gains, up from 12.9 per cent in the last election, has left them with 62 seats in parliament.

Had any of the parties been willing to co-operate with them, they could have been the 'kingmakers', however all other parties stand firm in their refusal to govern alongside them.

Formal invitations from SD leader Jimmie Åkesson, who has tried to move the party away from its neo-Nazi origins, to the Moderates and the CD to discuss a new Swedish government, have been turned down.

Supporters attend the Swedish Democrats election night party in Stockholm on Sunday

Sweden Democrats members celebrate with drinks and balloons after an improved vote share

Now what? Who will form the new Swedish government after the deadlock general election With the preliminary results leaving Sweden in a political deadlock, the nation now faces weeks of uncertainty with no clear Prime Minister nor ready-made ruling coalition. Neither of the 'traditional' Swedish government coalitions have won enough votes in Sunday's general election to form a majority government. Following the preliminary results, the three centre-left parties have 144 seats and the centre-right Alliance coalition, which governed from 2006 to 2014 have 143 of the total 379 in Swedish Parliament. In the past four years, the Social Democrats and the Greens have ruled in a minority government with support from the Left Party, formerly known as the Communist Party, and experts say they would now need to formally include the Left in a potential government to continue with this make-up. Not as big as he thinks: Sweden Democrats party leader Jimmie Akesson had expected to win '20 to 30 per cent' but ended up with 17.6 per cent of the vote - still a major gain from the last general election in 2014 Any minority coalition government would be under constant threat from the Sweden Democrats, who won 62 seats in parliament. SD have made it clear they are willing to block any attempt to pass legislation, such as the autumn budget bill, to get their way. If the final toll - officially announced on Friday following the end of the count on Wednesday - cements the preliminary results, it could force new cross-bloc coalitions in order to break the deadlock, and all of Sweden's parliamentary parties now readying themselves for weeks of talks. So far both current PM Stefan Lofven, whose Social Democrats won 28.4 per cent, and Ulf Kristersson, whose Moderates won 19.8 per cent, have said they will seek a mandate to form a government. Here are some of the most likely scenarios: THE ALLIANCE - Moderates, Liberals, Centre, Christian Democrats The Alliance have already made it clear they hope to form a government, but they would need support from SD to be able to vote through a budget. In exchange for this, SD would demand influence, which all the Alliance parties (so far) flat-out refuse. Time to talk: The Alliance coalition's party leaders, Ebba Busch Thor (KD), Ulf Kristersson (M), Annie Loof (C) and Jan Bjorklund (L) may try to form a government 'This is a very uncertain situation,' said David Ahlin, opinion chief at the market research company Ipsos. 'The most likely situation will be that the Alliance will form a coalition together and try to seek cross-bloc support.' THE LEFT - Social Democrats, Greens, Left Party While loath to form a government with the former Communist Party, this is PM Stefan Lofven's only shot at a traditional left of centre government. However, if SD joins the four Alliance parties and votes this coalition down in parliament, he would not be able to rule and it would be back to the drawing board. THE GERMAN SOLUTION - Moderates and Social Democrats I come in peace: Stefan Lofven has also said he aims to form a government Following months of talks, Angela Merkel united her conservative bloc with the German Social Democrats in a cross-bloc 'grand coalition'. This is an unlikely scenario, however as 'neither Social Democrats nor Moderates want to rule together,' according to political scientist Jenny Madestam However, 'should we end up in a situation where a re-election is the only option, it may be a solution,' Ms Madestam told Expressen. In the past four-year mandate, Social Democrats and the Moderates have signed 26 deals to pass legislation, notably on immigration, energy and the climate. This is still a more likely solution than any coalition involving the far-right Sweden Democrats. MEET IN THE MIDDLE - Social Democrats, Centre, Liberals Prime Minister Löfven is reportedly keen on this solution, which would see him remain Prime Minister and lead a coalition government with 151 seats. 'If the red-green bloc is bigger, the Centre and the Liberals hold the key and not Jimmie Akesson,', University of Gothenburg political science professor Mikael Gilliam told Swedish public service radio. However, this comes with a major caveat: the Centre and Liberals are members of the Alliance and would have to break election campaign promises to form a new coalition without the Christian Democrats and the Moderates. And angering former coalition partners ahead of needing cross-bloc support to vote a budget through parliament may result in a toppled government. Advertisement

Preliminary results: The final tally will not be known until Wednesday, but as of Monday morning, this is the result of the Swedish general election 2018

The official count will not be finished until Wednesday, as the votes of 165,000 expatriates are still being counted, but regardless of the final toll, Sweden has been left in limbo.

The centre-left Social Democrats party, which has been governing alongside the Greens, remained the largest party, but fell to a historic low of 28.4 per cent of the vote, their worst since 1908.

A major winner of the 2018 election has been the Left Party, whose leader Jonas Sjostedt has been one of the more visible politicians on social media during the election campaign.

The party increased their share by 2.2 per cent, winning 7.9 per cent of the vote, showing a surge on both the left and right fringes in Sweden.

The Left Party, which until 1990 was called 'The Left Party, The Communists', saw its best election since 2002, when they polled at 8.3 per cent, and its third best election result since 1944.

While Akesson's Sweden Democrats party failed to live up to the predicted results of over 20 per cent - they increased their share of the votes by nearly five per cent.

And in Sweden's southernmost county of Scania, which connects to Denmark and mainland Europe via the Oresund Bridge, SD became the biggest party in 21 of 33 municipalities.

Far left support: Left Party leader Jonas Sjostedt celebrates after increasing their their share by 2.2 per cent, winning 7.9 per cent of the vote, which is the party's best result since 2002

Stefan Lofven, the Social Democrat leader, speaks after the election results were announced

Ulf Kristersson, leader of Sweden's Moderate Party, speaks at an election party at the Scandic Continental hotel in central Stockholm after the results were announced

With the country in deadlock, Akesson told a party rally on Sunday: 'We will gain huge influence over what happens in Sweden during the coming weeks, months and years'.

He said he was interested in cooperating with other parties and wanted to tell Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the second-largest Moderates, 'how to govern the country'.

However, Kristersson has ruled this out from the start. He said: 'We have been completely clear during the whole election. The Alliance will not govern or discuss how to form a government with the Sweden Democrats.'

He told supporters on Sunday night that the four-party opposition alliance in parliament 'is clearly the largest and the government should resign.'

Current PM Lofven said he intended to remain in the job despite his party's historically poor performance .

He said of the weeks ahead: 'We have a moral responsibility. We must gather all good forces. We won't mourn, we will organize ourselves.

'It is up the political parties to cooperate responsibly and create a strong government,' he said.

Speaking after votes were counted he said 'a party with roots in Nazism' would 'never ever offer anything responsible, but hatred'.

Jimmie Akesson, leader of Sweden Democrats speaking during the party's election night event at Kristallen restaurant in Stockholm

Supporters of the Moderates on election night as the party was set to come third in the polls

Preliminary results on Monday morning saw the Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party bloc left with 40.6 per cent of the vote, while the opposition Alliance stands at 40.3 per cent.

In the hours before the election result, Akesson, who voted in Stockholm on Sunday, saying: 'Everything suggests we're going to have a good election.

'I've said throughout the campaign that 20 to 30 per cent is a reasonable score for us and I think that's possible.'

Who is the Swedish right-wing leader Jimmie Akesson? Akesson has headed SD since 2005, guiding what was initially a fringe party into parliament for the first time in 2010 with 5.7 per cent of the vote, climbing to 13 per cent in 2014. Often casually dressed, cool-headed in debates and talented at deflecting criticism, Akesson is seen as a straight-talker by his supporters. In 2014, he admitted to have a serious gambling problem, having spent 500,000 kronor (47,000 euros, $55,000) online. SD leader Jimmie Akesson is pictured with his partner Louise Erixon The politician, who has a son with his partner Louise Erixon, says he developed his nationalist streak at an early age. In a 2014 interview he recalled an incident from his childhood that made him 'sceptical about immigration': some refugee children pushed him off his bicycle and called him a 'bloody Swede'. Akesson is seen as a tireless worker and campaigner, pushing himself so hard in the 2014 election that he suffered a burnout. Doctors put him on sick leave for six months. He has called Muslims 'our greatest foreign threat since the Second World War' and said that immigrants must fully assimilate into Swedish society to be considered Swedish. Advertisement

While his party's election result failed to live up to his expectations, Akesson's fervent anti-immigrant campaigning still saw Sweden Democrats make significant gains.

The SD's 17.6 per cent share was an increase of almost five percentage points since 2014 but far below the highs of 25 per cent which some pre-election surveys had predicted.

A self-proclaimed nationalist, Akesson argues that multi-cultural values and customs prevent immigrants from assimilating into Swedish society.

Akesson has tried to sweep away the traces of the SD's origins in the fascist movement 'Bevara Sverige Svenskt' ('Keep Sweden Swedish') and purge the party of outspoken racists.

Their transformation was described as 'trading jackboots for business suits' in the Washington Post.

Ahead of the vote on Sunday, Prime Minister Lofven urged Swedes not to vote for the 'extremist, racist party' saying: 'It's about decency, about a decent democracy.

Sweden took in more asylum seekers per capita than any other country in Europe in 2015, magnifying worries about a welfare system that many voters already believe is in crisis.

Lengthening queues for operations, shortages of doctors and teachers and a police service that has failed to deal with inner-city gang violence have shaken faith in the 'Swedish model', built on a promise of comprehensive welfare and social inclusion.

SD leader Akesson has promised to sink any government that refuses to give his party a say in policy, particularly on immigration.

Throughout the election campaign, a number of SD officials have made headlines as journalists have uncovered abhorrent racist remarks made on social media.

In addition, more than a dozen candidates were kicked out of the party in the campaign's final week after their backgrounds in neo-Nazi movements were revealed.

With an eye on the European Parliament elections next year, Brussels policymakers are watching the Swedish vote closely, concerned that a nation with impeccable democratic credentials could add to the growing chorus of euroscepticism in the EU.