Today’s News revelation that the Social Democrats’ lottery operations target older, confused people and that the sellers are encouraged to use aggressive sales methods was widely circulated when it was published earlier this autumn.
Despite extensive reporting, however, no negative effect on trust in the party can be seen in the latest survey from SVT/Verian, which examines voters’ trust in the various parties in the Riksdag. Confidence in S is broadly at the same level as in March 2024, when the last measurement was taken.
– The Social Democrats’ confidence is still high. The criticism against the lotteries seems to have had a limited impact, says Per Söderpalm, head of opinion at Verian.
According to SVT’s political commentator Mats Knutson, the fact that trust does not decrease for S in this survey is not particularly surprising.
– Above all, what tends to affect public opinion and trust in Sweden are scandals where leading politicians have benefited privately financially from their actions. Political scandals in general, if they are not exceptionally gross, usually do not have a major public opinion effect, he says.
However, this does not mean that trust is secured for the Social Democrats.
– It may also be that the effect only comes after a while. It may therefore be a bit early to draw any definite conclusions about how the lottery scandal has affected the Social Democrats.
Confidence is increasing for the Moderates
For the Moderates, a clear rise in confidence is visible since the last survey. Now it is 39 percent of the voters who state that they have quite or a lot of trust in the party. In March 2024, it was 29 percent.
– Our measurements show that the voters’ view of the economy has become more positive. It probably benefits the Moderates, says Per Söderpalm.
Previously, the Social Democrats were the only party that had a positive net, i.e. more people who had confidence in the party than those who did not, but now this also applies to the Moderates.
– The Social Democrats still have the highest level of confidence, but the Moderates have declined in the past six months.
The Green Party is also making strong progress in this survey. According to Per Söderpalm, Amanda Lind’s accession has had a positive effect on trust, but politics also plays a role.
– The climate issue has grown in importance for the voters this year, due to several factors that speak for the Green Party right now, he says.