DEBATE • We need a new type of strategic voting. Casting a strategic vote can no longer be about keeping the Liberals in parliament. The party sits around two percent and will likely not make it in. A vote for L will in that case effectively be wasted. Anyone wanting the Tidö coalition to continue governing must therefore cast their vote for M, KD, or SD instead.

In 2022, the situation was different. Back then, L was also in trouble, but close enough to reach the parliamentary threshold. Ulf Kristersson went out together with Johan Pehrson, showed they were a team, and said that the Liberals needed to survive for him to be able to form a center-right government. It worked. L received 4.6 percent and 16 seats. Without those seats, the Tidö parties would have lost the election.

Many who voted for L did so to prevent the party from dropping out of parliament. A large portion actually considered the Moderates their true first choice. M’s own election analysis highlighted the same thing and concluded that without strategic votes, L probably would not have cleared the threshold.

Back then, the strategic vote was a rescue operation, with votes flowing from the large parties to the small one. The situation is now different. L is nowhere near the four percent threshold. Åkesson has also said Sweden Democrats should not cast strategic votes for L. It’s simple math. A vote for L is, in practice, a vote for the left side.

Simona Mohamsson does not change that calculation. She continues down the same old path and now asks M voters to rescue the party again. She is not managing to lift the party. In trust rankings, she is at the bottom among party leaders. A party leader with support this low will not be able to take the Liberals over the threshold in the election.

That means every L voter must ask themselves: what does a liberal who does not want S, C, V, and MP in power do?

The answer is: place your vote where it will count — for M, KD, or SD.

In 2022, voters from other parties saved the Liberals, allowing Tidö to take the reins. In 2026, it is time to return the favor. L voters can become the decisive factor when the blocks hang in the balance. With S, C, V, and MP in government, the risk is substantial that the price of petrol and diesel will rise sharply, that we’ll see a relaxed migration policy, and that ordinary people will be forced to pay higher taxes.

Those who still call themselves liberal can stick with L and throw away their vote. Or, cast a vote where it counts: for M, KD, or SD.

Andreas Feymark
Think tank Heimr