Just over a thousand Swedes were asked which party leader they would most like to have Christmas dinner with. On the left, as perhaps expected, it is Magdalena Andersson who most people would like to share the Christmas ham with. Among the parties in the government coalition, M-leader and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is surpassed by SD’s Jimmie Åkesson. However, even Magdalena is surpassed by Jimmie when asking male voters.

It is the polling institute Demoskop, commissioned by the industry organization Livsmedelsföretagen, that has found out which domestic top politician one would prefer as a Christmas dinner guest, or alternatively, visit oneself. Opposition and S-leader Magdalena Andersson drops slightly compared to when the same question was asked last year but still holds a reassuring first place with 28 percent.

In second place, just like last year, we find SD-leader Jimmie Åkesson, and M-leader Ulf Kristersson, despite his prominent position as prime minister, has to settle for a third place, which he also has to share with KD’s Ebba Busch. However, Åkesson’s margin decreases, as he drops compared to 2023 while Kristersson and Busch improve their numbers.

V-leader Nooshi Dadgostar secures – despite representing what many consider to be the historically and currently most extreme party in parliament – a fourth place on the list of popular Christmas dinner guests from the political elite. However, she drops slightly compared to last year.

Further down the list and after the former Communist Party leader, we find MP’s Amanda Lind, who turns out to be much more popular than her predecessor Märta Stenevi from last year. She shares the fifth place with L’s Johan Pehrson, who, however, drops slightly compared to 2023.

In sixth place, we find C-leader Muharrem Demirok, who has been in the eye of the storm since taking office. Although he slightly increases in popularity as a Christmas dinner guest, only three percent of Swedes have him as their first choice.

In the absolute last place, we find the Green Party’s Daniel Helldén. Compared to last year’s Per Bolund, he drops significantly, and only one out of a hundred Swedes wants to have him at the Christmas table.

According to Livsmedelsföretagen, which commissioned the survey, a popular Christmas dinner party leader is also believed to be popular to vote for in the next parliamentary election. However, before that, there will be another Christmas dinner survey where the numbers may look different.

Gender Differences

If we break down the numbers by gender and only ask women, Magdalena Andersson retains her first place and even improves it significantly. Among Swedish men, however, she is far less popular to have at the Christmas table and is clearly surpassed by SD’s Jimme Åkesson as the most popular Christmas dinner guest.

It is also not as simple as women preferring women and men preferring men to have Christmas dinner with. For example, KD’s Ebba Busch is twice as popular among men as among women in this year’s survey.

Overall, there is a small but clear majority in popularity for the parties in the government coalition compared to the red-green opposition, to which the former bourgeois Alliance party Center is now also counted. Those who wish can take it as an indication of how the election in 2026 will turn out.

The survey can be accessed in its entirety HERE.