Sweden’s Social Democratic prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, has said the country is at a pivotal moment as it prepares for its most critical election in years, in which rightwing populists with neo-Nazi roots are likely to become the second biggest party.
Andersson, who took over from Stefan Löfven in November to become Sweden’s first female leader, told the Guardian in an interview while campaigning near Stockholm that the repercussions would be considerable if the right-leaning parties win Sunday’s vote.
A second-place result for the Sweden Democrats could lead to a coalition with the Moderates, an established centre-right party that has moved to embrace the populists.
“There are rightwing populist parties in many European countries, but the Sweden Democrats have deep roots in the Swedish neo-Nazis and other racist organisations in Sweden,” said Andersson, speaking on a campaign bus emblazoned with the words Vårt Sverige kan bättre (Our Sweden can do better).
“And still today, I mean just last week, one employee at their central headquarters invited the other employees to celebrate the Nazis’ invasion of Poland during the second world war. I mean, it’s not like other parties.”
In other examples, she cited a television interview in February in which the party’s leader, Jimmie Åkesson, refused to say whether he preferred Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin, and Åkesson’s recent criticism of the Centre party leader Annie Lööf’s tone after she was the suspected target of a terror attack.
“Having that party having a say in every government decision of course would mean a lot. And also would mean a lot for Sweden and for the tone of the political debate,” she said.
While Andersson insisted the majority of Sweden Democrat voters were “decent people” disappointed with the status quo, she said there was an inner circle including MPs who “act and have ideas that are very far away from the majority of the Swedish people”.
The election comes at a tumultuous time for Sweden, against the backdrop of growing hostility from Russia as it prepares to join Nato, a Europe-wide energy crisis, and violence on the streets. So far this year, up to the start of September, there have been 273 shootings, 47 of which were deadly, according to police statistics. And the pandemic has exposed stark inequalities in living conditions among immigrants and refugees.
While Andersson said she did not consider Russia a “direct military threat”, she added: “It’s very important that we do have these security assurances that we got from the UK, the US, France, Germany and many other countries during our Nato application. We’re very grateful for that, it means a lot to us.”
Calling for Europe to become less dependent on Russian gas, she said gas and electricity prices must be “decoupled”. “We are all affected by the energy war that Putin is having against Europe with the low supply of Russian gas. The lesson to learn is, for long-term, to not be as dependent on Russian gas, and in the short-term we have in the European Union to decouple the gas prices and the electricity prices, that’s absolutely necessary.”
Asked why she wanted to continue in the job when the challenges, domestically and abroad, are so tough, Andersson – speaking between visits to Norrtälje and Botkyrka, both near Stockholm – said she wanted to help the country through tough times.
As her bus, well stocked with pick’n’mix sweets, pulled into campaign events, she was greeted by circular placards of her face and the sound of Fyra nya år! (Four New Years!), the song of the party’s youth league. At one, a small group of women sang a song dedicated to “Magda”, her nickname, to the tune of Yellow Submarine.
At her first stop, at a community centre in Norrtälje, she warned voters that the election was extremely even. She said the vote was about “what kind of Sweden we want and how we want our country to develop”. At her second, a family event in Botkyrka, she urged hundreds of parents to “go and vote”.
If she remains prime minister after Sunday’s election, she said Ukraine would be “top of the agenda”, and her priorities at home would include reducing gang violence, creating a more inclusive society, increasing employment in segregated areas, protecting welfare, stopping private companies profiting from the school system, and speeding up the green transition.
“What we see in Sweden right now is fantastic, with thousands of jobs in the new green industry, like battery factories and fossil-free steel production, so we really have potential also to show the world that you can speed up the green transition and have good prosperous development with lots of new jobs.”
She spoke positively about Boris Johnson, who she said had “shown a lot of leadership” on Ukraine and whose security assurances to Sweden she appreciated. “If I continue, I will look forward to working together with Liz Truss,” she added.
Andersson said it was not hugely significant to her if she became Sweden’s first elected female prime minister (she succeeded Löfven after a vote in parliament), though she recognised it would be “good for Sweden”, adding that she had seen what it meant to other women and girls to see her lead the government.
“They are happy that we finally got there. So it’s an important symbol – maybe more important than I thought before I got elected, to be honest. And of course if I could also be elected in a general election that would be another important step for Sweden.”
The treatment of Sanna Marin, Finland’s prime minister, with whom she has worked closely, after footage emerged of her dancing highlighted the unfair treatment of female leaders, she said. “I don’t think it would be global news in the same way if she had been a man.” She believes the 36-year-old’s relative youth also contributed to the way she was targeted.
In Botkyrka, Ingalill Strömqvist, 76, said she was pleased with Andersson’s performance so far as prime minister as she was “very loud and clear about what she thinks”.
Serkan Elcen, 37, and engineer, said his voting priorities were energy politics and security, adding it had been a difficult time with Ukraine but that Andersson had “handled the circumstances well.”
Elcen said: “She’s popular, but it’s very polarised right now.”
