Max Hjelm: More and more people fear the Centre Party, and I understand why

The Centre Party’s refusal to submit to Sweden’s traditional bloc politics has made it a target from both the left and the right, according to Max Hjelm. Critics warn that the party could bring “chaos” if its support becomes necessary to form a parliamentary majority.

The left-wing think tank Katalys has repeatedly made that argument near the end of the election campaign. On the market-liberal right, Timbro chief PM Nilsson has warned that the Centre Party could help throw the government back into instability and parliamentary chaos. Expressen’s editorial page has also pointed to difficulties with cooperation across the centre.

Hjelm presents the dispute differently. The Centre Party is running on a liberal platform and rejects a government arrangement built around the nationalist Sweden Democrats. It also argues that its growth- and business-friendly policies would be obstructed by the socialist Left Party. The party says an open society would not be advanced by controversies involving antisemitism in the Left Party or recurring racism in the Sweden Democrats.

“

chaos

Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has acknowledged that government negotiations could take time. Hjelm says she is prepared to endure repeated consultations with the parliamentary speaker rather than abandon the party’s position.

The column contrasts that strategy with the Liberals’ approach after 2022. It says the party repeatedly accepted the Sweden Democrats’ policies on segregation and deportations, as well as cuts to climate policy and aid, and now presents itself as the guarantor of Jimmie Åkesson becoming a minister. Hjelm says voters have shown little enthusiasm for that choice and argues that advice urging the Centre Party to follow it does not come from people seeking to advance liberal ideas.

“

contribute to throwing the Swedish government back into instability and parliamentary chaos