Public support for Socialdemokraterna and Centerpartiet taking seats in a future government has deteriorated following the September 13 election, leaving the political initiative with the parties on the right, according to a fresh DN/Ipsos poll.
Shifting Momentum Away From the Left-Leaning Bloc
In the wake of the September election, the parties on Magdalena Andersson’s side secured 176 mandates against 173 for the Tidö parties. Yet no government has been successfully formed. Magdalena Andersson has been voted down in a prime minister vote, and Centerpartiet leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist faces the same fate.
Voters have grown impatient with the deadlock. Polling data gathered by Ipsos between September 15 and 27 among 1,494 eligible voters shows that public backing for Socialdemokraterna in government dropped from 55 percent immediately after the election down to 49 percent. Centerpartiet experienced a parallel decline, falling from 52 percent to 47 percent.
“It is likely the result of those two parties being the ones that have probed for a new government,” said Nicklas Källebring, an opinion analyst at Ipsos. “The electorate rarely looks beyond media reporting, and the image is that government formation has come to a complete standstill.”
Additional findings indicate that nearly four out of ten voters view Socialdemokraterna as vacillating and trapped in the past. Furthermore, 52 percent of respondents in the Ipsos survey stated that S complains more about opposing policies than articulating its own agenda.
The survey also highlights that fewer voters now want Magdalena Andersson as prime minister, while more want Ulf Kristersson to remain in the post. Meanwhile, nearly four out of ten voters perceive Socialdemokraterna and Centerpartiet as vacillating, with C taking over that trait prominently amid its stance pointing to Magdalena Andersson while discussing a middle alternative. Among Socialdemokraterna and Centerpartiet voters, nearly one-third judge their party’s handling of the post-election process as poor according to Indikator Opinion data, slightly outnumbering those who view it as handled well.
Tidö Parties and Moderaterna Gain Ground
While the center-left loses momentum, the parties on the right enjoy a tailwind. Moderaterna has advanced in recent public opinion measurements, with voter preference for M joining the next government rising above post-election levels. Sverigedemokraterna and Kristdemokraterna have registered similar upward shifts.
“The opinion winds are blowing in the direction of the Tidö parties. It is an identical share of voters now who want Moderaterna in the next government as those wanting Socialdemokraterna,” Källebring noted.
Moderaterna has overtaken its rivals to become viewed by voters as the most capable governing party. M continues to face the perception of representing wealthier interests, but scores higher on real-world economic competence.
Vänsterpartiet stands apart from the center-left slide. V leadership has insisted on cabinet seats in any administration dependent on its mandates, and the strategy has not alienated its base. Exactly 25 percent of voters want V in the upcoming government, mirroring its post-election figures. Conversely, a broadcast report from Sveriges Radio based on Indikator Opinion data highlights that nearly one-third of S and C voters judge their parties’ handling of the post-election process as poor. Voters for Miljöpartiet and all Tidö parties remain more satisfied overall, while one in five Vänsterpartiet voters also rate their party’s handling poorly alongside half who consider it handled well.
