In the summer of 2024, Johan Lindholm took the helm as chairman of the S-financier, the trade union umbrella organization LO. Despite a large portion of the members sympathizing with the Sweden Democrats, he calls the party ‘anti-worker’—while LO continues to provide multimillion support to the Social Democrats ahead of this fall’s election.

Several of LO’s member unions provide direct financial support to the Social Democrats. Together with LO’s central contribution, which is about four kronor per member, the total support usually amounts to approximately 7–8 million kronor per year.

In addition to direct financial aid, LO also contributes in other ways, including campaigning and work efforts during election campaigns. Ahead of the 2026 election, the organization plans to invest significantly more—a total of around 30 million kronor—with the aim of influencing the election outcome towards a Social Democrat victory.

LO’s campaign budget for the election also exceeds what several parties, including the Left Party, Christian Democrats, Green Party, and Liberals, had at their disposal in the previous election.

In an interview with Expressen, Johan Lindholm says he meets with Social Democrat party leader Magdalena Andersson “now and then.” In another interview with the financial magazine Realtid, he admitted that he himself is a Social Democrat.

At the same time, LO and the Social Democrats hold joint press conferences where their politics are synchronized in close and extensive cooperation.

The LO Boss: “SD Is an Anti-Worker Party”

A survey from Statistics Sweden (SCB) last summer showed that the Social Democrats are once again the largest party among LO members. 44.8 percent of LO voters said they sympathize with the Social Democrats, while 25.9 percent stated that they are closest to the Sweden Democrats.

But despite figures showing that many members vote for SD, Johan Lindholm says he could not imagine inviting the party to LO Headquarters.

In an interview with Realtid at the beginning of the month, Johan Lindholm gave his view of the union’s position in Sweden today, as well as the challenges that declining membership, working hours, and justice issues entail. He also took a clear stance against SD ahead of the upcoming election, while LO continues to finance the Social Democrats’ coffers for the election campaign.

– I think they (SD, editor’s note) are anti-worker in the sense that they block every reform, everything we bring forward, said the LO boss.

– So you have a massive number of members who sympathize with something you categorize as anti-worker. That must be very tricky, said host Lennart Ekdal.

– LO is not a political party. LO collaborates with the Social Democrats, defended the LO boss.

– But LO is an organization with political values, replied Lennart Ekdal.

LO boss Johan Lindholm then tried to wriggle out of the situation by saying that he does not tell members how to vote, but rather wants LO to work on financial and security issues—something he suggests the Social Democrats have lagged behind on. However, that is something LO will ‘help with’ to improve.

– But my visits at the workplaces are not about telling people how to vote, it’s about doing something that makes a difference. I believe it’s a lot about people’s wallets and security and so on. I think that’s the content we must help with and make sure it gets better.

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See the interview below. At the pre-set timestamp 5:48, the LO boss talks about SD voters and calls the party ‘anti-worker’: