Åkesson prepares for an election defeat

The argument inside Sweden’s Tidö coalition points to more than friction between its parties. It also suggests that Jimmie Åkesson is already preparing for the possibility that the right will lose the election.

The blue-and-yellow alliance was meant to be the right’s strongest card. But the coalition’s unity does not appear to be what voters are seeking, according to Henrik Torehammar. The Sweden Democrats now seem eager to reinforce the opposition’s claim that Tidö would collapse after an electoral defeat.

That message emerged even before voters cast their ballots. During an SVT interview last week, Åkesson adopted what Torehammar described as the stance of a cold general and issued a sharp ultimatum.

Unless the Liberals can show that they are holding their position close to the four-percent threshold 10 days before the election, meaning Thursday, blue-and-yellow votes should not be wasted on a party that has already lost, Åkesson said. The warning reflects the coalition’s electoral dilemma: its parties must appear united, while also protecting their own support before election day.