Social Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson distances herself from earlier strong warnings about the Sweden Democrats' threat to democracy. In an interview on SVT's 30 Minutes, she instead criticizes SD for damaging democratic discourse under the Tidö government. She points to cuts in public service and attacks on critical voices as examples.
A few years ago, the Social Democrats portrayed the Sweden Democrats (SD) as a threat to democracy. Stefan Löfven warned of danger if SD influenced government policy, and Peter Hultqvist used phrases like "boot-stomping and stormtroopers," evoking 1930s Nazi Germany. However, in SVT's 30 Minutes program on March 5, 2026, Magdalena Andersson distances herself from such rhetoric and focuses instead on SD's policies in the Tidö government.
Andersson claims that Sweden's democratic conversation has been silenced with SD in power. "We have a less vibrant democratic conversation," she says. She cites cuts to public service, reduced support for popular education, and SD MP Björn Söder's proposal to withdraw state funding from Civil Rights Defenders after the organization's criticism of the Tidö agreement. She also criticizes Jimmie Åkesson's harsh response to TV4's investigation of SD's so-called troll factory.
"An important part of democracy is that many people participate and dare to raise their voices and express their opinions. These examples take Sweden in the opposite direction," she adds. Andersson notes Åkesson's admiration for US President Donald Trump and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and that he has welcomed their support in the election campaign. "That is no good advertisement for a vibrant democratic conversation," she says.
She warns of security risks, such as SD's support for Quran burnings during the sensitive NATO process in 2023. Richard Jomshof, then chairman of the justice committee, defended the right to burn the Quran and said: "I don't think one should do it, but one is allowed to, and if they get upset, then burn a hundred more." Aftonbladet has sought comment from SD, but no response has been reported.
