Magnus Olsson, the Sweden Democrat who leads the party in Malmö city council, wrote in a post on X that in the mid- to long-term, his party will end up having to partner with the Social Democrats if it wants to drive through real change.
"We are cooperating well the Moderates and many good decisions have been made," he wrote. "But don't forget that the Moderates look down on us and think that we are village idiots. That's the way we're described among the Moderates. It might seem strange, but S [the Social Democrats] are our natural partner in the future. M [The Moderates] are weak and timid. S [the Social Democrats] know how to rule!"
Given that the party has long painted the Social Democrats as their arch-enemy, campaigning under the slogan stoppa Sosseriet, or "stop Social Democrat politics", Olsson's statements have got him an unusual amount of attention for a regional politician.
The party's leader, Jimmie Åkesson, said he disagreed with Olsson's assessment of the government's record, telling the Dagens Nyheter newspaper that "if you look at the timeline, you see that we are on target for just about everything".
"We wouldn't let the government stay in place if we judged it was not following the timetable we set to a sufficient extent," he elaborated. "Right now we are loyal to the parties we are cooperating with and I am set on it will take at least four more years for us to be able to complete what we have started."
Olsson claimed his initial post had been triggered by frustration at the government's slow progress driving through reforms.
"I feel that there's a growing frustration among many voters, and above all among Sweden Democrats, that the government is not properly delivering," he told the Expressen newspaper, which was the first to report on the post.
"The Moderates and the Liberals are much too timid and weak when it comes to these sorts of issues. My sense is that when the Social Democrats finally decide to do something, they drive it through with a totally different level of force."
The Moderates, he elaborated, see the Sweden Democrats, like "cousins from the country who are just messing about and don't quite meet the grade".
Despite his support for the government, Åkesson kept open the possibility of working with the Social Democrats in future, saying "a lot can happen in 10 to 15 years".
What's going on? Olsson might have posted on his own initiative, but it's unlikely he would then do follow-up interviews with the Dagens Nyheter and Expressen newspapers without the blessing of the party's leadership.
Possible objectives for the party might be:
- to pressure Moderates in Malmö to join the party in a local election alliance, something Olsson went on to propose only a few days later
- to pressure the government parties to step up the pace in pushing through the government's anti-migration agenda
- to reassure supporters disappointed by the pace of reform
- to position for a Social Democrat victory at a time when the party is creeping higher and higher in the polls, with the support of fully 35 percent of voters.
Is an alliance unrealistic? The Social Democrats have moved to the right on both immigration and law and order, and when it comes to economic and fiscal policy the Sweden Democrats are arguably closer to the Social Democrats than they are to the right-wing parties. Many of the blue collar workers who used to vote for the Social Democrats now vote for the Sweden Democrats.
It's happened elsewhere. In Denmark, the Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen opened up to cooperating with the far-right Danish People's Party, holding a controversial joint interview with the party's then leader after taking the lead of her party.
But both Jonas Hinnfors, politics professor at Gothenburg University, and Nicholas Aylott, associate professor at Södertörn University, told The Local they believe an alliance looks unlikely.
"The Social Democrats might have adapted their policies dramatically in the direction of the Sweden Democrats but any co-operation with what the party leadership still believes is a semi-fascist party appears to be unlikely," Hinnfors said.
"It would take an earthquake for S even to consider any sort of bilateral co-operation with SD in the foreseeable future, at least at national level," agreed Aylott.
What else has been going on in Swedish politics?
Liberal Party calls for ban on foreign free school owners
The Liberal Party has proposed that companies from outside Sweden should not be allowed to own and operate state-funded free schools in Sweden, as it seeks to harden its position on the issue of companies profiting from running schools.
"To make sure that Swedish schools are under Swedish control is key," the party's leader Johan Pehrson told the TT news agency at the start of the party's annual meeting of regional politicians. "This is a security issue as well as about imparting knowledge."
Sweden Democrat in EU call for Palestinians to be cleared from Gaza
The Sweden Democrat MEP Dick Erixon has submitted a proposal to the European Parliament calling for the EU's diplomatic wing to support US efforts to clear Palestinians from Gaza.
"We encourage the commission to instruct the EEAS to fully support the democratic efforts from the US administration to move Palestinians from the Gaza strip to Egypt and Jordan, which will thereby reduce the migration pressure from the area," the proposal reads.
Government hikes tax break on renovations
Sweden's government has announced plans to hike ROT-avdrag, a tax break on hiring builders, plumbers, electricians and other skilled workers, from 30 percent to 50 percent of the value of the work done from May 12th.
The measure, part of the upcoming spring budget, will cost 4.3 billion kronor (€400 million).
Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said that the measure was intended to stimulate the building sector and so reduce unemployment.
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