The Sweden Democrats are gathering this weekend in Upplands Väsby in northern Greater Stockholm to kick off the election campaign. During the weekend, the party is expected to, among other things, establish its election platform, while party leader Jimmie Åkesson warned about the current polling situation facing the Tidö parties and urged everyone to step up a gear to turn the tide and win the election in 92 days.
In his speech, Åkesson noted that the Tidö government is trailing the opposition in several polls and that time is quickly running out to turn around the situation.
“We have a significant deficit to make up, and time is running short,” he said.
Despite the Sweden Democrats themselves polling strongly in several surveys, Åkesson emphasized that this is not enough if the other parties in the Tidö cooperation do not succeed in winning over voters.
“We’re part of a team, and that team has to win.”
Åkesson said he found it hard to understand the polling numbers in view of the reforms accomplished during this parliamentary term. At the same time, he warned about what he sees as the risks of a shift in government, claiming that Sweden once again risks becoming “the world’s social office.”
As a reminder of the alternative, he lined up a possible red-green government team under Magdalena Andersson (S): Nooshi Dadgostar (V) as finance minister, Morgan Johansson (S) back as justice minister, and Daniel Helldén (MP) as energy minister.
“Morgan Johansson as justice minister so he gets the chance to fail again at breaking the gangs.”
Åkesson stressed that, under the Tidö government, gang violence has instead decreased and that the gangs will be crushed.
“So thoroughly that they’ll never be able to rise again.”
“Incomprehensible and Illogical” to Vote Red-Green
He argued that it should be obvious to voters to prefer today’s policy under the Tidö government over that preceding the power shift in 2022.
“We have gone from the absolute bottom to the top of the EU growth table. International confidence in the Swedish economy is high, the krona has strengthened, real wages are rising, and taxes on work have been lowered for everyone. At the same time, the national debt is lower than ever, and tax revenues are higher than ever.”
“We now have 200 billion kronor more in tax revenues than when Magdalena Andersson was prime minister. Even though we have lowered taxes with borrowed money.”
“Unemployment is falling, extreme inflation has been defeated, interest rates have dropped, food tax has been halved with corresponding drops in food prices, the electricity tax has been reduced, fuel taxes are as low as they can realistically be, and the reduction mandate is essentially abolished. Overall, an average family with children has around SEK 5,000 more to live on per month with the economic policy we have pursued.”
Furthermore, Åkesson promised that the Tidö government’s new dental care reform will apply to everyone after the election.
“We have started the biggest dental care reform in living memory so that those aged 67 and over only pay ten percent of the reference price when getting their teeth fixed. After the election, we’ll make sure it applies to everyone.”
“It’s actually completely incomprehensible that anyone would want to go back to what we had before—what we’ve spent four years cleaning up. It’s completely illogical that anyone in Sweden who works and does the right thing, who lives an honest, ordinary Swedish life would want to stop everything we’ve started and which we have both the strength and the will to complete. It is both incomprehensible and illogical.”
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Despite the polling situation for the Tidö parties, Åkesson expressed optimism heading into the upcoming campaign, emphasizing that the gap can still be closed. He noted that the Sweden Democrats already have strong support among men, but said the party needs to get much better at reaching out to women and convincing them that SD’s policies are the best for improving Sweden.
“It’s possible to turn this around. We must turn this around. And we will turn this around.”
The SD leader concluded with these words:
“Now, Sweden friends, we’re hitting the streets and squares again to win the voters’ trust once again. Conversation by conversation, debate by debate, leaflet by leaflet, door by door, voter by voter—we’ll make sure to eat up the lead the red-green chaos has, because we know what is at stake, and losing is not an option.”
“Sweden friends, we’re going to win the election. Now we continue making Sweden Sweden again. A secure, free, and Swedish Sweden.”
See the full speech here: