SD convinced – thinks L will change about cooperation

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SD convinced thinks L will change about cooperation
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  • Johan Pehrson’s vague statement about whether the Liberals could possibly cooperate with the Sweden Democrats has caused concern within the party, but he later clarified that they will not release a government in which the SD is included.
  • Internal discussion is ongoing within the Liberals about the party’s line on the government cooperation issue, but large parts of the party support the continued exclusion of SD in government matters.
  • Leading figures in the Sweden Democrats believe that the Liberals will eventually change their position and are preparing to go to the polls on a joint government offer that also includes L.

    • ⓘ The summary is made with the support of AI tools from OpenAI and quality assured by Aftonbladet. Read our AI policy here.

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    full screen Johan Pehrson (L) receives criticism after unclear statements about SD in the DN interview. Photo: Lotte Fernvall

    Johan Pehrson’s vague statement about forming a government with the Sweden Democrats creates concern in the Liberals.

    But within Sweden’s second largest party, it is coldly expected that L will swing.

    – I am convinced that L will change his mind, says a leading person in SD.

    The government issue continues to elude the Liberals, not least since Jimmie Åkesson poured, now cheaper, fuel on the fire when he made it clear that the Sweden Democrats will bring down all governments that the party is not a part of.

    In November, party leader Johan Pehrson made the announcement in SVT that his party will neither sit in government with SD nor release a government in which the party is a part.

    But now that 2024 is coming to an end, a message came that was not as clear. In one interview with Dagens Nyheter he added that party leaders must “be prepared to constantly make certain re-examinations”.

    Parts of the party have perceived Johan Pehrson’s reasoning in DN as a test balloon to see what reactions it would arouse.

    Aftonbladet has spoken to leading figures as well as the party’s grassroots. All agree that discussion on the issue is ongoing, but the vast majority agree that L still stands firm in his position of not letting SD into government.

    – All decisions can be changed, but I have never heard anyone in management even hint that we would like to change this decision, says a centrally located person in L.

    “Johan screwed up”

    Several leading people within the party use the word “clandestine” about Johan Pehrson’s choice of words in the interview in DN. The party leader’s reasoning creates uncertainty in the party and a lack of clarity towards the voters that is really unnecessary, they say.

    – I don’t understand why he said that. I don’t think it is relevant anywhere, says a source in the party.

    – Johan was upset. He didn’t even have to go into such debauchery, says another source.

    Shortly after the DN interview was published, Johan Pehrson felt compelled to manage the crisis.

    “Let me be clear. The Liberals will not say yes to SD in government or release a government in which they are included. It is not only my opinion, but also the party’s decision,” he wrote on the X platform.

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    full screen The SD leadership is currently preparing the party to go to the election together with L. Photo: Peter Wixtröm

    The government issue soon on the agenda

    Recently, an L official in western Sweden wrote in the party newspaper NU that he thinks the party should reconsider the issue and land on a new line that does not involve forming a government with SD or launching a government in which SD is a part.

    Such sparks can light the fire in the party.

    When the party gathers for a national meeting next year, the government issue is expected to be on the agenda.

    – It will probably be dealt with there, but there is nothing to suggest that we would change our mind in any way, says a source who is close to Johan Pehrson.

    SD prepares for L cooperation

    But what does it look like on the other side of the Tidö collaboration?

    The leadership of the Sweden Democrats is currently preparing the party to go to elections with the announcement that they want to form a government together with the Liberals. It is an above role for SD, which has previously pointed out liberalism as a major problem in political Sweden.

    – It is a new element than how it has looked before, but I think you can see the policy that we have actually agreed on and we have good potential to be able to continue that development, said party secretary Mattias Bäckström Johansson in an interview with The evening paper.

    “Have no other realistic choices”

    Within SD, the Liberals’ current line is taken in stride.

    In background conversations with leading people in the party, it appears that lessons have been learned from L’s patchwork in matters of cooperation in the past. The party jumped from a collaboration with the Social Democrats, within the January agreement, to being part of an SD-supported government in a very short time, they point out.

    That a similar turn could happen again is pure expectation within SD’s upper echelons.

    A high-ranking Sweden Democrat points out that the party’s idea of ​​a conservative bloc has in principle been incorporated through the Tidö Agreement and that the path forward towards government is now laid out for the party quartet to walk. For that a term of office was required.

    Another centrally located person shares that image.

    – The liberals have no other realistic choices if they want to survive and have influence, the person asserts.

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