Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson launches a new campaign with nicknames like Knäckgängensson to boost her brand ahead of the election. The campaign follows poor poll numbers where a third of Swedes do not know who she is. PR expert Paul Ronge calls it sad and desperate.
The Liberals are struggling with low poll numbers less than a year before the parliamentary election. According to a Demoskop survey, only nine percent of Swedes have great or fairly great trust in party leader Simona Mohamsson after her statement refusing to cooperate with the Sweden Democrats. A recent Indikator Opinion poll shows that a third of respondents do not know who she is.
To reverse the trend, the party has launched the campaign 'Därför Mohamsson', giving Mohamsson new nicknames like Skolsson, Mobilförbudsson, Knäckgängensson, Möjlighetsson, Integrationsson, and Ordningsson. In a press release, she explains: 'When my family came to Sweden, my father changed our surname. From Mohammed to Mohamsson, because we had now become part of Sweden. Mohamsson is more than a surname to me. It stands for striving and seeing opportunities'.
PR expert Paul Ronge is skeptical. 'There is panic in the camp right now. But it rarely works to focus on politicians instead of politics. The campaign itself becomes a bit sad; you shouldn't have to tell people you are the party leader', he says. Ronge compares it to the Center Party's failed 'Det här är Lennart' campaign ahead of the 1998 election, which did not help leader Lennart Daléus.
Nevertheless, Ronge believes the campaign will not harm the party. He cites a positive example from the Liberals: Lars Leijonborg's nickname 'Lejonkungen' during the 2002 election, which provided a positive boost despite a poor starting position. 'The nickname actually stuck and became a positive push. He backed it up with his way of being too', says Ronge.