The Social Democrats’ party leader Magdalena Andersson has seen declining confidence after the recent trips.
First it concerned Jamal El-Haj, former Social Democrat and now political savage, who participated in a Palestinian conference where the chairman had Hamas connections. After the killing of Hamas in Israel on October 7, criticism of the Social Democrats therefore grew as they clearly did not distance themselves from Jamal El-Haj.
– That was the whole prelude to this. On the contrary, the party leader took a very strong side for him and almost pledged his honor for him. At one point in a party leader’s debate, she received criticism from the prime minister, who then says that there is a terror romance in the Social Democrats, says Ann Tiberg, political commentator for TV4 Nyheterna.
“Mortgage your honor”
In tears, Magdalena Andersson replied that Ulf Kristersson made a “terrible accusation”.
– Many ask themselves why she didn’t let others defend him. I’ve called a lot of people asking about this and I think the answer is a mix of maybe it wasn’t super prepared.
How has Magdalena Andersson’s handling of Jamal El-Haj hurt her?
– It has undoubtedly hurt her. We have seen it in confidence figures that they have fallen during the last period, says Ann Tiberg.
– This is precisely what it’s all about, that you first pledge your honor to one person. Then the person is asked to leave the party, which happened. Then the narrative from the government parties that they said they are fighting is confirmed.
The trips around Magdalena Andersson – it has happened
Then the turbulence continues. Last week, Magdalena Andersson gave an interview to Dagens Nyheter – where she herself chose the topic to be about the party’s European election tour. The focus instead falls on the right-wing debater Henrik Jönsson, and the headline reads “The S-leader’s distrust of the right-wing debater: “Who funds him?”.
– She starts asking questions connected to the Russian influence campaign, says Ann Tiberg and adds:
– It is quite easy to check who finances Henrik Jönsson because he himself says so in his YouTube videos that he uploads. Then the entire focus of the interview ends up on this instead of what she really wanted to talk about.
After that, criticism flared up again when the party leader wrote an article in a German newspaper.
– This article addresses what Jimmie Åkesson said regarding tearing down mosques where hate messages are preached. But in the text it says instead that he wanted to demolish all mosques in Sweden. What they say today in the Social Democrats is a mistranslation.
What does all this mean for the Social Democrats’ Magdalena Andersson?
– She is hard pressed but still has a strong position in her party. She still has strong trust figures. Today, her co-workers tell me that “we’re not always great, but we’re not really bad.” And it’s two and a half years until the next election and they’re hoping to fix this.
Despite many trips, Magdalena Andersson has continued strong support in the party. She is first on the trust list with 42 percent, followed by Ulf Kristersson with 35 percent and Jimmie Åkesson with 29 percent.