Politics in Sweden: Who is the new leader of the struggling Liberals?
Simona Mohamsson vowed to bring 'tough love' to immigration and integration politics in her first speech as party leader. Will one of her first moves be to change the Liberals' stance on the far-right Sweden Democrats, asks The Local Sweden's Editor Emma Löfgren.
Advertisement
We did mention Simona Mohamsson in our analysis a month ago as a possible candidate for the position as leader, but she was hardly one of the favourites.
Her appointment came as many of the top names, however, said they were not interested in the role, including Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari.
Mohamsson, who spent most of her childhood and teenage years in south-western Sweden, has had a meteoric career within the Liberal Party, only entering national politics as recently as April, when she took over as party secretary – one of the most senior roles within a party.
Before that the 30-year-old had been active in youth and local politics, serving as deputy chair of the party's LUF youth wing and city councillor in charge of social services in Hisingen, a suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city.
She was born in Hamburg, Germany, and moved to Överlida, a village of around 500 people in the countryside south-east of Gothenburg, when she was eight years old.
Her father is an Israeli Arab born in Haifa and her mother is from a mountain village in Lebanon, close to the Israeli border. The family changed their name from Mohammed to the more Swedish-sounding Mohamsson shortly after arrival in Sweden.
Advertisement
She was formally elected as the new leader of the Liberals on June 24th, and thrown into the deep end only hours later when she gave a speech on the main stage of Sweden's annual, high-profile Almedalen political week on the island of Gotland.
Mohamsson dedicated a significant amount of her speech to one of the Liberals' main issues: schools, saying she had arrived in Sweden to a 'flumskola' (a Swedish slang word that refers to the school system as 'frivolous') run by the centre-left Social Democrats, a stark difference to the German school system she had started out in.
'That is my promise to those of you listening. The school as an institution of knowledge must be restored. Folkpartiet classic,' she told the audience at Almedalen Week.
In the end, which she didn't mention, she actually spent most of her Swedish school years under a national government led by the centre-right Alliance (including the Liberals, known at the time as Folkpartiet) for eight years and a centre-right majority city council.
Advertisement
She also praised the Tidö coalition – the government made up of the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals, supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats – for its approach to crime and punishment, urging 'hard measures for soft values'.
'We should not have a Sweden where police officers are shot. Where children are killing other children. With streets of sorrow or neighbours in fear,' she said.
She said integration policies should place tougher demands on people, but also offer opportunities, such as Swedish for Immigrants classes coupled with language requirements for citizenship, or vocational training but also a cap on benefits.
'That's Liberal politics for more Mohamssons. Where second-generation immigrants become first-generation Swedes. With support from society, but also the clear expectations of society. Tough love, for a Sweden that sticks together,' she said.
Advertisement
Mohamsson avoided addressing criticism of her party's collaboration with the Sweden Democrats in her speech, saying she could 'work together with all parties', before launching a blistering attack on the centre-left opposition, which she argued shared neither a joint vision for Sweden nor insights into the problems the country faces.
'It's not an option you want to collaborate with if you want to push Sweden in a better and safer direction,' she said.
At a press conference after the speech, she said the Liberals would make a clear statement about future government coalitions after the summer holidays.
The party has previously refused to be part of a government that includes the Sweden Democrats, or support such a government. But according to unconfirmed reports by public broadcaster SVT, the party management will attempt to change its stance.
Based on current polling figures, the best hope for a right-wing government after the 2026 election is if the Sweden Democrats are allowed to formally join the government.
That's if the Liberals even make it into parliament, which is not a safe bet.
In the latest major poll by number-crunchers Statistics Sweden, they were polling at 2.8 percent, far below the 4 percent required to get any seats in parliament.
Will Mohamsson's "tough love" be able to turn things around for the Liberals? It remains to be seen.
Politics in Sweden is The Local's weekly analysis, guide or look ahead to what's coming up in Swedish politics. Update your newsletter settings to receive it directly to your inbox.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Sweden
2 hours ago
- Local Sweden
Six key takeaways from 'white book' that confirms Sweden Democrats' Nazi past
The Sweden Democrats presented their so-called 'white book' on Thursday, a nearly 900-page document following the party through its nationalist origins in 1989 to its entry into parliament in 2010. What are the key takeaways and reactions? Advertisement Bevara Sverige Svenskt was a precursor to the Sweden Democrats According to the report, many of the original leaders of the Sweden Democrats came from Bevara Sverige Svenskt (Keep Sweden Swedish), a racist, right-wing extremist and nationalist campaign organisation. It managed to map thirty different members of the party at the time of its foundation in 1989, of which a third had links to Swedish fascist movements. Ethnonationalist until the mid-90s The Sweden Democrats' ideology was distinctly ethnonationalist, the report says, with political adversaries often described as fienden or "the enemy". These were primarily split into three groups: Internationalists (which essentially referred to Jewish people), traitors (political adversaries) and immigrants who, according to Tony Gustafsson, the historian behind the report 'threatened cultural and ethnic homogeneity purely by existing'. Contact with right-wing extremist organisations In 1993, members of the Sweden Democrats were told to stop talking about race, while the party at the same time still had contact and links to right-wing extremist organisations. In the 1990s, the party published antisemitic material, and many of its members were part of organisations like Vitt ariskt motstånd (White Arian Resistance) and Nordiska rikspartiet (The Nordic Realm Party, a Nazi party originally founded in the 1950s as the National Socialist Combat League of Sweden). Vitt ariskt motstånd also acted as 'unofficial guards' at some of the Sweden Democrats' largest demonstrations. Advertisement Youth organisation founded in 1992 The party's youth organisation SDU was founded in 1992. According to the document, the organisation had 'militant tendencies' and engaged in 'confrontational street activism'. Members described themselves as 'political soldiers', listened openly to antisemitic white power music, dreamed of a racial war, detested homosexuality and praised the Ku Klux Klan and the Holocaust. Party starts to discuss clearing out the 'Nazi dregs' In 1995, party leader Anders Klarström – who had a background in the Nordiska rikspartiet – was replaced by Mikael Jansson, and the Sweden Democrats started to undergo a change, according to the report. The party banned symbols and uniforms related to the Nazis during demonstrations, and started internal discussions on how to clear out the "Nazi dregs". The youth organisation was also cleaned up, reformed and made an official part of the Sweden Democrats. In 2000, Jansson openly spoke about his hatred of Nazism. Current party leader Jimmie Åkesson joined the party in the mid-1990s – it's not clear exactly when – and, according to Gustafsson, the change within the party is still ongoing. Between 1992 and 2010, 130 people were expelled from the party, with expulsions from 1995 also taking place on ideological grounds. People who heiled or made clear racist or antisemitic statements were expelled, as well as members who had contact with antidemocratic groups. Advertisement What has the response been to the white book? Jimmie Åkesson apologised for the party's history in a speech at the Almedalen political festival the day before the white book was published, saying that he 'apologises deeply'. This was criticised among other things by researcher Morgan Finnsiö from anti-racist magazine Expo who argued in Dagens Nyheter (DN) that the Sweden Democrats still have issues with antisemitism in the current party. "There are many Jews in Sweden who still see their links to right-wing extremism as something frightening," he said. "In essentially every election the Sweden Democrats have stood in since their foundation, candidates have been revealed who still have links to the Swedish white power movement." Gothenburg University researcher Christer Mattsson, who has read the entire report, told SVT that it was "a genuine academic document", adding that there was information in the report that he wasn't sure would be included. Mattsson works for the university's Segerstedt Institute, which engages in preventative work against antisemitism and racist organisations, among other things. He explained that it wasn't just about the founding of the party, but also the fact that national socialism, antisemitism and race ideology all remained part of the party for several years, influencing its people, activities and institutions. Advertisement "There were sediments of racial ideology, nazism and antisemitism in the early party, which were expressed by different people and affected the party's internal and external activities. It was, in other words, possible to express extreme views despite the fact that these were not anchored in the party's official stance," he told SVT. In an interview with the TT newswire, Mattsson said that the document was detailed but lacked analysis. 'The interesting thing is what you do with this information, what has come forth,' he said. Mattsson also rejected top Sweden Democrat Mattias Karlsson's claims that he could not be personally responsible for any of the party's history as he joined the party in 1999, years after it had started the process of change. 'There are few people in the Sweden Democrats today who were active during the early years,' Mattsson said. 'But that doesn't really matter. You can't individualise responsibility or the inherited history. It's not a question of which individuals are to blame. If you're part of the leadership of an organisation which has that history, you carry a collective responsibility for it.' 'I think a lot of people would find it reassuring if they said 'yes, we have this history and there is an aspect of guilt, and we want to apologise for that',' Mattsson said.
Local Sweden
a day ago
- Local Sweden
Sweden Democrat leader 'apologises deeply' for party's history
Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson told the crowd during his speech at the Almedalen political festival that he 'apologises deeply' for his party's history, after the release of an 800-page document looking into its far-right origins. Advertisement The document, written by historian Tony Gustafsson, covers the period between the party's founding in 1988 to its entry into parliament in 2010, including its origins in nationalist movements inhabited by right-wing extremists, fascists and Nazis. Åkesson told SVT that it included "a lot of bad things" and that it was "not fun to read". "But it's nothing new that some of the founders of our party, almost over 40 years ago, had connections to more extreme movements," he told the public broadcaster, while adding that there were names included in the report that even he hadn't heard before. He also addressed the white book in his speech on Tuesday evening. "It makes me feel uncomfortable that there was actually a time when Jews in Sweden had completely rational reasons to view the Sweden Democrats of the time with concern and fear," Åkesson said, adding that the white book made it clear that there was "overt antisemitism among individual Sweden Democrats". "I deeply regret, and apologise, that my party at the time could be perceived as threatening and frightening for Jews in Sweden," he added. Advertisement Åkesson said that the party has now drawn clear boundaries against antisemitism. "The Sweden Democrats of today, especially me, have to handle what we have inherited," he said. "Take responsibility for it, if you will. And I think we have done that, handled it and taken responsibility for it. We've drawn clear boundaries and we've kept it clean." He added that he believes antisemitism in Sweden now comes from the left wing. "In the wake of the conflict in the Middle East, open antisemitism is now growing in Sweden," he said. Researcher Morgan Finnsiö from anti-racist magazine Expo argued in Dagens Nyheter (DN) that the Sweden Democrats still have issues with antisemitism in the current party. "There are many Jews in Sweden who still see their links to right-wing extremism as something frightening," he said. "In essentially every election the Sweden Democrats have stood in since their foundation, candidates have been revealed who still have links to the Swedish white power movement." Advertisement Finnsiö added that the party was mentioned in Swedish security police Säpo's reports of Swedish right-wing extremism well into the 90s ‒ years after Jimmie Åkesson joined the party. "This is something that was a part of the party's history, in its ideology and in the social environment the party recruited its members and representatives from," he told DN. "If it was just single individuals then it wouldn't have been included in Säpo's reports of crimes threatening Swedish domestic security." He also pushed back on Åkesson's claims that antisemitism is primarily a problem within the Swedish left. "We have a terror-classed Nazi group in Sweden, Nordiska motståndsrörelsen [the Nordic resistance movement], which continues to push antisemitism within the Swedish far right to a very high degree," he said. "Trying to pretend that the problem of antisemitism only exists in one corner of Swedish politics is almost absurd." Gothenburg University researcher Christer Mattsson, who has read the entire 800-page report, told SVT that it was "a genuine academic document", adding that there was information in the report that he wasn't sure would be included. Mattsson works for the university's Segerstedt Institute, which engages in preventative work against antisemitism and racist organisations, among other things. He explained that it wasn't just about the founding of the party, but also the fact that national socialism, antisemitism and race ideology all remained part of the party for several years, influencing its people, activities and institutions. "There were sediments of racial ideology, nazism and antisemitism in the early party, which were expressed by different people and affected the party's internal and external activities. It was, in other words, possible to express extreme views despite the fact that these were not anchored in the party's official stance," he told SVT. The first part of the white book was presented in 2022.
Local Sweden
a day ago
- Local Sweden
Politics in Sweden: Who is the new leader of the struggling Liberals?
Simona Mohamsson vowed to bring 'tough love' to immigration and integration politics in her first speech as party leader. Will one of her first moves be to change the Liberals' stance on the far-right Sweden Democrats, asks The Local Sweden's Editor Emma Löfgren. Advertisement We did mention Simona Mohamsson in our analysis a month ago as a possible candidate for the position as leader, but she was hardly one of the favourites. Her appointment came as many of the top names, however, said they were not interested in the role, including Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari. Mohamsson, who spent most of her childhood and teenage years in south-western Sweden, has had a meteoric career within the Liberal Party, only entering national politics as recently as April, when she took over as party secretary – one of the most senior roles within a party. Before that the 30-year-old had been active in youth and local politics, serving as deputy chair of the party's LUF youth wing and city councillor in charge of social services in Hisingen, a suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city. She was born in Hamburg, Germany, and moved to Överlida, a village of around 500 people in the countryside south-east of Gothenburg, when she was eight years old. Her father is an Israeli Arab born in Haifa and her mother is from a mountain village in Lebanon, close to the Israeli border. The family changed their name from Mohammed to the more Swedish-sounding Mohamsson shortly after arrival in Sweden. Advertisement She was formally elected as the new leader of the Liberals on June 24th, and thrown into the deep end only hours later when she gave a speech on the main stage of Sweden's annual, high-profile Almedalen political week on the island of Gotland. Mohamsson dedicated a significant amount of her speech to one of the Liberals' main issues: schools, saying she had arrived in Sweden to a 'flumskola' (a Swedish slang word that refers to the school system as 'frivolous') run by the centre-left Social Democrats, a stark difference to the German school system she had started out in. 'That is my promise to those of you listening. The school as an institution of knowledge must be restored. Folkpartiet classic,' she told the audience at Almedalen Week. In the end, which she didn't mention, she actually spent most of her Swedish school years under a national government led by the centre-right Alliance (including the Liberals, known at the time as Folkpartiet) for eight years and a centre-right majority city council. Advertisement She also praised the Tidö coalition – the government made up of the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals, supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats – for its approach to crime and punishment, urging 'hard measures for soft values'. 'We should not have a Sweden where police officers are shot. Where children are killing other children. With streets of sorrow or neighbours in fear,' she said. She said integration policies should place tougher demands on people, but also offer opportunities, such as Swedish for Immigrants classes coupled with language requirements for citizenship, or vocational training but also a cap on benefits. 'That's Liberal politics for more Mohamssons. Where second-generation immigrants become first-generation Swedes. With support from society, but also the clear expectations of society. Tough love, for a Sweden that sticks together,' she said. Advertisement Mohamsson avoided addressing criticism of her party's collaboration with the Sweden Democrats in her speech, saying she could 'work together with all parties', before launching a blistering attack on the centre-left opposition, which she argued shared neither a joint vision for Sweden nor insights into the problems the country faces. 'It's not an option you want to collaborate with if you want to push Sweden in a better and safer direction,' she said. At a press conference after the speech, she said the Liberals would make a clear statement about future government coalitions after the summer holidays. The party has previously refused to be part of a government that includes the Sweden Democrats, or support such a government. But according to unconfirmed reports by public broadcaster SVT, the party management will attempt to change its stance. Based on current polling figures, the best hope for a right-wing government after the 2026 election is if the Sweden Democrats are allowed to formally join the government. That's if the Liberals even make it into parliament, which is not a safe bet. In the latest major poll by number-crunchers Statistics Sweden, they were polling at 2.8 percent, far below the 4 percent required to get any seats in parliament. Will Mohamsson's "tough love" be able to turn things around for the Liberals? It remains to be seen. Politics in Sweden is The Local's weekly analysis, guide or look ahead to what's coming up in Swedish politics. Update your newsletter settings to receive it directly to your inbox.
