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🇸🇪 Sweden /Elections & Politics

Åkesson Softens Ultimatum to Liberals, Wants More Polls

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Ongoing story
  • Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson delayed a decision on whether voters should abandon the Liberals after the party fell below his 3.5% polling threshold.
  • Two recent polls put the Liberals at 3.3% and 2.8%, but Åkesson said he wanted to assess the trend through additional surveys.
  • Voters interviewed in Sandviken said they preferred voting for the party that best reflected their views rather than casting a tactical vote.

Jimmie Åkesson has softened his ultimatum to Sweden's Liberals, saying he wants to see more opinion polls before urging voters to abandon the party. The change came with 10 days remaining before the election.

I am aware that I set a deadline for today, but given the trend we have seen, I still think it is interesting to wait for a few more polls.

· Jimmie ÅkessonÅkesson explained why he was delaying his earlier call to abandon the Liberals.

Åkesson had told SVT that voters should drop the Liberals unless the party reached at least 3.5% in opinion polls. When Dagens Nyheter met him in Gävle, two recent surveys showed the Liberals at 3.3% and 2.8%.

“I am aware that I set a deadline for today, but given the trend we have seen, I still think it is interesting to wait for a few more polls,” Åkesson said. Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson will have to wait longer for his decision.

People vote for the party they think is best and whose values they share.

· Carin NilssonNilsson rejected the idea of lending her vote to the Liberals for tactical reasons.

During a campaign stop in Sandviken, Åkesson drew applause and a long line of people seeking handshakes and selfies. Several voters said they did not understand the idea of lending their vote to another party for tactical reasons. Carin Nilsson said people should vote for the party they considered best and whose values they shared. First-time voter Theo Björkman expressed the same view, saying he would choose the party he liked most.

a breath of fresh air in politics.

· Gunnar LundströmLundström explained why he had previously cast a tactical vote for New Democracy.

Gunnar Lundström said he had once cast a tactical vote for New Democracy because he wanted “a breath of fresh air in politics.” He said he might have considered doing the same for the Liberals, but objected to the party's conduct in Sandviken and its cooperation with the Social Democrats. Åkesson later gave a brief speech outside a supermarket in Hofors, telling voters not to forget that their choice mattered and clearly urging support for the Sweden Democrats.

Do not forget that it really does matter how you vote.

· Jimmie ÅkessonÅkesson made the appeal during a brief campaign speech in Hofors.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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