When the Sweden Democrats concluded this year’s Almedal Week in Visby this evening, there was a woman on stage. The party’s group leader in the Riksdag, Linda Lindberg, had to replace Jimmie Åkesson. Linda Lindberg has had a rocket career in SD and has several heavy assignments. There are many indications that she can become a strong party leader candidate.
Jimmie Åkesson has meant a great deal to the Sweden Democrats’ success. He is also the party leader in the Riksdag who has been on the front line the longest, a full 18 years. For many voters, he embodies SD.
Therefore, he is difficult to replace. But sooner or later a change will be necessary. And I would not be surprised if a change in the most vulnerable post comes before the end of this term, before the 2026 election.
Extremely tiring
The job of party leader is extremely tiring, Jimmie Åkesson has previously been burnt out and recently he has on several occasions canceled important appearances for personal reasons. Then Linda Lindberg took over his role.
Linda Lindberg is so far a rather unknown face to ordinary voters. Among the Sweden Democrats there are many politicians who have distinguished themselves more in the public debate. But lately she has been given a series of heavy assignments.
1) In April, Linda Lindberg was appointed the Sweden Democrats’ group leader in the Riksdag. A position previously held by three men, the well-known SD profiles Björn Söder, Mattias Karlsson and Henrik Vinge.
2) When Jimmie Åkesson announced that he would not appear at Järvaveckan, Linda Lindberg had to step in in his place.
3) And when Jimmie Åkesson backed out of his previous promise to speak in Almedalen in May this year, the ball went to Linda Lindberg.
READ MORE: “The Almedals defection raises questions about Åkesson’s future plans”
The majority are still men – that’s not enough
The Sweden Democrats’ routine is for the group leader to replace the party leader. For example, Mattias Karlsson had to jump in as acting party leader when Jimmie Åkesson was burnt out. But there is more evidence that Linda Lindberg can become a strong party leader candidate when Åkesson eventually withdraws.
Linda Lindberg is not only a group leader, she is also social policy spokesperson for SD and chairman of the party’s women’s union. And the latter can be of decisive importance.
The Sweden Democrats are still a predominantly male party. In the 2022 election, 25 percent of all men voted for SD, but only 16 percent of women. It is not good enough for a party whose goal is to become bigger than the Social Democrats and to lead future governments. To get there, SD must attract more women.
The party leadership has tried several times to change the skewed gender distribution, with plans to, for example, raise wages in female-dominated professions. But the effect has not been the desired one.
The Sweden Democrats have also had problems with high-profile women withdrawing. When Paula Bieler stepped down from her duties three years ago, it was a difficult break for SD. Paula Bieler had been active in the party for a long time and she too was sometimes mentioned as SD’s crown princess. But after the defection, Bieler has directed criticism at the Sweden Democrats’ political choice in several issues.
Classic Sweden Democratic speech
Now it is instead Linda Lindberg who is in the spotlight. The speech in Almedalen can be seen as a test of her ability to bring SD’s politics to a larger audience.
And Linda Lindberg gave a classic Sweden Democratic speech which went on to say that all other parties have destroyed Sweden by allowing too much immigration. All social problems were linked to excessive immigration. So a speech that Jimmie Åkesson could also have given. A phrase summarizing the message read: “The Sweden Democrats have been the only party to stand aside and try to warn of the consequences”.
The speech was mostly about immigration, crime and welfare. Climate and environmental issues were given no space at all. On the other hand, Linda Lindberg received strong applause when she worked with the Green Party in various ways.
Heckled other parties about equality
Linda Lindberg also addressed the criticism SD has received for not standing up for gender equality. She derided other parties that “talk about quotas for company boards and parental allowance or how many women are firefighters” and said that “the insecurity, the violence against women and the widespread sexual violence” are more important issues.
From a Sweden Democratic perspective, she then connected the issues of equality with immigration and said that: “The same left-wing feminists who fight day in and day out to open the borders even more, and get men here with a stale view of women, are the same left-wing feminists who accused us Sweden Democrats of to be misogynistic.”
And Linda Lindberg concluded that “all credible feminists should be Sweden Democrats”.
A claim that SD’s political opponents naturally do not agree with.