Senior Sweden Democrat Richard Jomshof has suggested that, in a deadlocked and chaotic situation, the party could drop its demand to join a government and instead support one from the outside. This is not on the table according to party leader Jimmie Åkesson, who asserts that SD must be in government after the election – otherwise, they will remain in opposition. At the same time, Jomshof’s statements have sparked a public dispute between Åkesson and the magazine Kvartal over what Jomshof actually said and how his statements should be reported.
The Sweden Democrats’ demand for ministerial posts in a future government has been a central part of the party’s government platform ahead of the 2026 election.
This week, Jomshof participated in an interview with Kvartal, where he reflected on the possibility of allowing a right-leaning government to form without SD ministers if the alternative would be a political situation he described as “total chaos on the left.”
– If the alternative is total chaos on the left. But we will not do it for free, Jomshof told Kvartal.
Jomshof simultaneously emphasized that the party’s current position remains unchanged and that SD should actively participate in a future government. Jomshof also said that he was “thinking out loud” in the conversation with Kvartal and did not want to be quoted on those statements.
Meanwhile, this speculation contradicts the message delivered earlier on Wednesday by party leader Jimmie Åkesson. At a press conference, the SD leader was asked whether the party is in talks with the Centre Party about supporting a right-leaning minority government and whether the party could then give up its demands for ministerial posts.
Åkesson dismissed that possibility and argued instead that it is the Centre Party that must reconsider its position if it wants to join a right-leaning government coalition.
– I can answer no to that question, said Åkesson at the press conference.
Åkesson was further asked whether the Tidö Parties could try to attract the Centre Party to secure government power, even though that could require SD to drop its insistence on joining the government.
– It is more reasonable for the Centre Party to abandon its red lines. We are a significantly larger party. It’s unreasonable to expect us to change our position. It is the smaller party, seeking to join our cooperation, that needs to do so, he answered.
Åkesson distances himself
Åkesson has distanced himself from the interpretation in Kvartal of Jomshof’s line of reasoning. In a post on social media, he wrote that Jomshof had a speculative background conversation with a journalist, and that this does not mean the party has changed its stance.
“Stop the presses. That Richard Jomshof has speculative background conversations which a journalist at Kvartal then misuses does not in any way mean we have changed our position. As everyone knows, it is me who formally represents the party on this matter,” writes Åkesson.
The SD leader also points out that his stance has been clear for several years and asserts that after the 2026 election, the party will either be part of a government or remain in opposition.
“After the 2026 election, the Sweden Democrats will either be in government or in opposition.”
He continues that there are no other options.
“To cast any other vote than ‘no’ for a prime minister intending to form a government without Sweden Democrat ministers is inconceivable. If, for some unfathomable reason, that would change, it would not be communicated in background conversations between Kvartal and Richard Jomshof.”
Kvartal’s Reporter: “Sleazy Tactics”
The argument on social media has escalated between Åkesson and Kvartal’s reporter Jonathan Kärre, who wrote the article presenting Jomshof’s reasoning. Kärre denies Åkesson’s description of the conversation as a “background conversation” and responds to the party leader on X.
“Background conversation? Stop with the sleazy tactics. My suggestion is that politicians stand by what they say in parliament. Is that too much to ask? Furthermore, Jomshof only requested not to be quoted after the fact, that’s not how it works,” Kärre wrote to the SD leader.