Per Hermanrud: The concerns must be taken seriously – otherwise Magdalena Andersson can win the next election
The Tidö parties’ most important issue is, alongside immigration, the fight against gangs. But despite the fact that the police today report that shootings are decreasing sharply, a survey shows that the Swedish people feel more insecure in recent years. The concern must be taken seriously by the politicians – otherwise it could pay off in the next election.
During Tuesday, the police presented pleasing figures – not least for Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M). The number of shootings is down – for the second year in a row.
Since the grim record set in the 2022 election year, the number of shootings has dropped by about a third. If the development continues, the statistics will become one of the Tidö parties’ strongest cards in the next election campaign. But the Minister of Justice is unlikely to be as happy when he reads about the opinion firm Novus’ latest survey, which shows that a large part of the Swedish people feel more insecure in recent years.
Creating security for the people is a fundamental task for a government. If they fail there, it can pay off in the next election.
Dismal clearance figures for “mass crimes”
Gunnar Strömmer commented on the figures on Tuesday in TV4’s “News Day”. There he also took the opportunity to tell that the police’s solving percentage of serious crimes has increased significantly. These are numbers he likes to draw attention to.
What he didn’t mention were the lousy clearance figures for so-called mass crime. A very low percentage of frauds, burglaries and thefts are resolved. They may not be as serious but are probably just as troublesome for the sufferer. The reason is, among other things, that the police have been forced to prioritize. The police have chosen murder investigations over bicycle thefts if they are to toughen it up. Reasonable, most people think, but the lousy figures for mass crime naturally risk affecting trust in the police and the justice system in general. But it also affects trust in the ruling politicians.
Must deliver results
One explanation for why the Tidö parties won the election in 2022 was that they could blame gang crime on the Social Democrats, who had ruled the country for the previous eight years. But at the next election in 2026 – if the cooperation lasts until then – the Tidö parties will govern for four years.
Gang crime is, together with immigration, the Tidö parties’ most important issue. They have invested enormous prestige and must also be able to show concrete results at the next election. Otherwise, the next election could be a walking victory for Magdalena Andersson. When the voters gave the Tidö parties the electoral victory, it came with a demand. Many of their constituents expect them to solve gang crime.
Today’s figures from the police about a reduced number of shootings are a step in the right direction for the Tidö parties – but hardly enough. Because while the number of shootings is going down, the perpetrators seem to be getting younger and younger. Added to that are the low clearances when it comes to quantity crimes.
Everything is summed up quite well in the survey from Novus, which shows that a large number of Swedes feel more insecure in recent years. Security is a basic need and the voters will demand to be protected from the gangs in the next election as well.