Sweden's election on the final stretch: Liberals climb, Social Democrats slide, Left Party rocked by scandal
Six days before Sweden's parliamentary election, polls show the Liberals rising and the Social Democrats falling, while the Left Party remains shaken by an antisemitism scandal that SVT commentator Mats Knutson called a "nightmare" for the party.
Sweden's election on the final stretch: Liberals climb, Social Democrats slide, Left Party rocked by scandal
With six days left before Sweden's parliamentary election on 13 September, new polls show a shifting balance between parties, while the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) continues to be shaken by an antisemitism scandal.
Liberals approach the threshold
In a Novus/TV4 poll, the Liberal Party (L) has for the first time since 2022 crossed the 4 percent parliamentary threshold, reaching 4.3%. A DN/Ipsos poll put the party at 3.5%, its highest level in a year, while an SVT/Verian poll published 4 September had it at only 3.0%. SvD's political editor-in-chief Tove Lifvendahl attributes the rise to a "Simona Mohamsson effect," saying the party leader has earned public respect.
Meanwhile support for the Social Democrats (S) keeps falling. The Ipsos poll gave the party 27.1%, its worst result since autumn 2021, while Novus measured 27.0%. The left-green bloc still leads overall, but its margin has narrowed to about 7.8 percentage points. Aftonbladet's political editor Anders Lindberg warned the opposition that it had celebrated victory prematurely and should stop quarrelling over ministerial posts before the final debates.
Antisemitism scandal in the Left Party
Following an investigation by newspaper Expressen, eight Left Party candidates were removed from election lists over accusations of antisemitism and glorifying terrorism. Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar told SVT that those individuals no longer represent the party but declined to comment on the messages they had spread. Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson wrote on social media that "antisemitism has no place anywhere" and that the Left Party is "currently heading in the wrong direction." Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (Moderates) demanded that Andersson guarantee no "terror romantics, antisemites or Putin admirers" would enter government offices, describing "rot running deep" in the left bloc.
SVT's domestic political commentator Mats Knutson said the revelations amount to "a nightmare for the Left Party" that could significantly affect its election prospects.
Other developments
Sweden Democrats (SD) figure Gustav Gellerbrant went on parental leave and handed in his parliamentary pass after reports concerning his partner. SD leader Jimmie Åkesson called it "in practice a time-out" but said he still trusts Gellerbrant. Separately, a debate continued over a proposed billionaire tax, with the Left Party's chief economist Sandro Scocco defending a wealth tax while businessman Carl Bennet warned it could drive capital out of Sweden.
