Moderates

Short answer: The Moderates say that the party works in a liberal-conservative tradition and want work to pay and crime to be punished. The party received 19.85 percent in the Riksdag election 2026 and 70 seats, the second most in the Riksdag. Ulf Kristersson has been prime minister since 2022 and leads a caretaker government while the question of the government is decided.

Founded
1904, as the General Electoral League. The name Moderata samlingspartiet (the Moderate Party) since 1969 (Nationalencyklopedin)
Party leader
Ulf Kristersson, since 2017 (riksdagen.se).
Riksdag election 2026
19.85 percent and 70 of 349 seats, an increase of 2 seats (Election Authority).
Ideology in its own words
"The Moderate Party works in a liberal-conservative tradition" (programme of ideas 2021).
After the election
In government 2022 to 2026 together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, with the Sweden Democrats as a cooperation party. Kristersson resigned as prime minister on 17 September 2026 and leads a caretaker government (TT). On 27 October 2026 the question of the government had not been settled.
History

Where the party comes from and how voters have voted.

The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League, an umbrella organisation for the right in the Riksdag. It has since been called the National Organisation of the Right (1938), the Right Party (1952) and the Moderate Party (1969). In the early 1900s the right led governments under Arvid Lindman and Ernst Trygger, and the party was part of the national unity government during the Second World War.

After several decades in opposition, the Moderates sat in the non-socialist governments under Thorbjörn Fälldin 1976 to 1978 and 1979 to 1981. Carl Bildt led a non-socialist four-party government 1991 to 1994. Under Fredrik Reinfeldt the party called itself "the New Moderates" and governed in the Alliance government 2006 to 2014. The 2010 election gave 30.1 percent, the party's highest result since universal suffrage was introduced.

Ulf Kristersson became party leader in 2017 and prime minister in 2022, in a government with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals that cooperated with the Sweden Democrats under the Tidö Agreement. In the 2026 election the Moderates increased slightly, while the government's support base as a whole got 173 seats against 176 for the Social Democrats, the Left Party, the Green Party and the Centre Party.

The Moderates' share of the vote in Riksdag elections

Election yearPercentElection yearPercent
197011.5199822.9
197615.6200215.3
197920.3200626.2
198223.6201030.1
198521.3201423.3
198818.3201819.8
199121.9202219.1
199422.4202619.9

Sources: Statistics Sweden, historical election statistics 1910 to 2022, and the Election Authority for the 2026 election. Share of valid votes.

Goals and vision

What the party says it wants.

The programme of ideas from 2021 starts from individual freedom and a limited but strong commitment by the state. The party writes that "Society is bigger than the state." and that "Freedom is the precondition of human dignity". On how change should come about, the programme says that the party's view is "anti-radical and reformist".

The 2026 election manifesto is based on the government's policies continuing: "Sweden is on the right track". The core is summarised as "Effort should pay off. Crime should be punished." The party states a target for real wages: "Our goal is for real wages to rise by 50 percent over the next ten years."

On gang crime the party writes that "The goal is not to reduce the gangs' power. The goal is to eradicate it." Other goals in the manifesto are that a majority in every residential area should live on wages from work within ten years, and that Sweden should be among the top three in the world in mathematics within ten years.

The proposals

Seven issues, the same for every party.

Economy and taxes

The Moderates want to cut taxes for everyone with low and middle incomes and give working parents with children under 18 a special tax cut. The party proposes a "work deduction" that lowers the tax on occupational pensions by up to 1,000 kronor a month, lower tax for those who work beyond retirement age and that the first 500,000 kronor in an investment savings account become tax-free. Fees for preschool and after-school care are to be abolished. For businesses the party wants to lower the corporate tax, introduce a new deduction for research and development and reduce the regulatory burden by 25 percent.

The party says that the overall tax burden should not be raised. Financing according to the election manifesto: savings requirements on agencies, a commission on waste, a benefit barrier that is to halve benefit fraud, faster phase-down of unemployment insurance and abolition of the tax deduction for the unemployment insurance fee, and money moved from aid to welfare and defence, with support to Ukraine and humanitarian aid excepted. According to the manifesto, just over 70 billion kronor is freed up, and the reforms are to be carried out as economic room allows.

Work

The Moderates want the benefit cap to take full effect and the number of people living on social assistance to be halved. The state is to take over the assessment of work capacity, and the requirements for unemployed people to move to where the jobs are are to be tightened. The party wants to expand vocational education and states 72,000 places in vocational adult education and 53,000 places in higher vocational education. The earnings allowance in the student grant is to be removed during the summer.

Crime and punishment

The Moderates want to abolish the sentence discount for multiple crimes, make it the main rule that sentences are served in full and limit sentence reductions for personal circumstances. The party proposes two new offences with life imprisonment in the penalty scale, femicide and particularly aggravated rape, and that the penalties for gross violations of a woman's integrity are doubled. A gang law is to, among other things, make membership of a criminal gang punishable, and gang leaders with dual citizenship are to be able to lose the Swedish one, which requires a constitutional amendment.

The party wants to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14 for the most serious crimes, set up youth prisons and allow ankle monitors for children over 13. It also wants to put up 10,000 cameras by 2029, introduce municipal security guards and a central register of people convicted of sexual offences against children. No separate cost estimate is given.

Migration and integration

The Moderates want asylum policy to be at the EU minimum level and a "Sweden contract" to be a condition for benefits, for qualifying for welfare and for citizenship. Deportation is to be the main rule for crimes that carry a penalty stricter than a fine, and dual citizens convicted of serious crimes are to be able to lose their citizenship.

For integration the party proposes special integration zones, compulsory language preschool, abolishing Swedish as a second language as a separate subject and limiting the right to an interpreter in public services to three years. The goal is that a majority in every residential area should live on wages from work within ten years.

Climate and energy

The Moderates want the state to finance up to 5,000 megawatts of new nuclear power through loans and risk sharing, obstacles for all forms of power to be removed and the electricity grid to be expanded. Neighbours of wind power are to receive compensation, and municipalities are to keep their self-determination over wind power. The party wants to replace the target for the transport sector's emissions with a target for electrification, introduce an electric car premium in rural areas and gather environmental permitting in a new agency. The net-zero emissions target for 2045 remains. No total amount is stated.

Health and social care

The Moderates want to shorten the care guarantee from 90 to 30 days and make the regions liable to pay when it is not met, and set up a national care brokerage. The sickest are to get a regular doctor, and at least 80 percent of staff time is to go to core tasks. For children and young people the party proposes a guarantee of 30 days to child and adolescent psychiatry, where the age limit is raised to 21.

The party also wants a new LSS act where the state takes responsibility for personal assistance, mandatory checks of the criminal record for staff in elderly care and more attempts at in vitro fertilisation, from three to six, which the party estimates at 327 million kronor. According to the party, the other proposals fit within the manifesto's framework.

School

The Moderates want Sweden to be among the top three in the world in mathematics within ten years and 95 percent of pupils to reach sufficient knowledge. The party proposes 30 minutes of reading every day, handwriting practice, personal finance as a subject and state review of teaching materials. Screens are to be phased out in the lower and middle years, and the age limit for social media is to be 15. The party wants to introduce grades for conduct and defends free school choice. New curricula and a new grading system are to apply from the autumn of 2028.

What do the agencies say?

The agencies' assessments, question by question.

This section sets out what government agencies and state councils have said about the party's proposals or about the same type of proposal, in the agency's own words or a close summary, both when they support and when they oppose. Parties that have been in government often receive more consultation responses, because their proposals have become inquiries and government bills, so a difference in quantity is not a judgement.

Economy and taxes

On earned income tax credits as a type of proposal, the Fiscal Policy Council writes that further credits are costly because they affect employment only marginally, and that the problems in the labour market are primarily about matching rather than a lack of incentives to work. On tax-free saving in investment savings accounts, the National Institute of Economic Research (KI) and the Swedish National Financial Management Authority (ESV) advised against the government's 2024 proposal for a tax-free basic level. KI judged that the tax cut would largely go to people who already save, and ESV that more than half of the cut would go to those who have already saved more than 300,000 kronor. We have not found any statement by a public authority on the Moderate Party's proposal to lower corporate tax.

Work

In 2025 the Swedish Agency for Public Management (Statskontoret), IFAU and the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) advised against the model for a benefit cap proposed by the inquiry SOU 2025:15. Statskontoret pointed to a risk of increased crime, weaker integration and increased segregation as well as major consequences for the children affected, and considered that if the changes were made they should be introduced gradually with systematic follow-up. IFAU and Socialstyrelsen shared the inquiry's assessment that the model is not compatible with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The statements concern the inquiry's model. We have not found any statement by a public agency on the party's other proposals on this issue.

Crime and punishment

On abolishing the volume discount for multiple offences and limiting mitigating equity grounds: on 25 June 2026 the Council on Legislation advised against the government's proposal on how the sentence should be determined for multiple offences and was very doubtful about limiting the equity grounds but did not advise against that part. In the consultation on the penal reform inquiry in October 2025 the Swedish Prosecution Authority supported a stricter penalty scale for multiple offences and the proposals on equity grounds, and the Swedish Police Authority was positive, while Brå advised against the inquiry's proposals and warned of a sharp rise in the number of prisoners. On making participation in criminal gangs a crime: in May 2026 the Swedish Prosecution Authority supported it and the Swedish Police Authority was positive, while Brå advised against it and wrote that the definition of a criminal association is very broad. On a lower age of criminal responsibility, the Council on Legislation advised against lowering it to 13 on 12 March 2026, and Brå has advised against both 14 and 13.

Migration and integration

The Council on Legislation advised against the government's proposal on tighter expulsion on grounds of crime on 18 March 2026, which among other things covered crimes carrying a penalty more severe than a fine, and pointed out that the rules were changed as recently as 1 August 2022. At the same time the Council supported requiring a prosecutor's claim for expulsion. On revoking citizenship, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen (JO) wrote on 26 May 2026 that citizenship has strong constitutional protection, viewed positively that the main proposal has an exhaustive list of offences, but advised against the alternative proposal as too imprecise. On the type of proposal limiting the right to an interpreter, the Swedish Institute for Human Rights advised against an interpreter fee after six years of population registration on 28 August 2026 and supported the ban on child interpreters.

Climate and energy

In its consultation response of 27 November 2024 the Swedish Energy Agency held that a model for state financing and risk sharing for new nuclear power should be market-based and competitive, and that the costs for electricity customers had not been sufficiently investigated. In its report of 19 March 2026 the Swedish Climate Policy Council welcomes a targeted electric car premium for low-income earners in sparsely populated areas, but notes that several consultation bodies warn that the target group is too narrow. The Council counts the preparations for a new environmental permitting agency among the decisions that contribute to the climate targets, and warns of shortcomings and uncertainties during the transition. We have not found any agency statement on replacing the transport sector's emissions target with a target for electrification.

Health and social care

On the care guarantee: Socialstyrelsen shared on 27 September 2022 the inquiry's view that tools such as a statutory care guarantee have been used for years without reversing long waiting times, supported an extended guarantee and stressed that those with the greatest need should come first. On a national care referral service, Socialstyrelsen was positive on 2 September 2025 to the proposals meant to make it possible. On state responsibility for personal assistance (the type of proposal in SOU 2023:9): Försäkringskassan supported a single state body being responsible but wrote that the reform requires clear rules, time and funding, and opposed a start on 1 January 2026. ESV also supported it, but judged that municipal oversight would weaken and that ending municipal co-funding would probably raise state costs.

School

On state review of teaching materials, the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket), in its response of 21 December 2021 to the Teaching Materials Inquiry (SOU 2021:70), opposes setting up a teaching materials board and defining teaching materials as quality-assured, because the term is hard to make concrete without an authority reviewing and approving products. Skolverket considers that responsibility for quality criteria and any review should lie with Skolverket. In the same response, Skolverket considers that purpose and quality, not the form of media, determine whether a teaching material is suitable. We have not found any statement by a public authority on conduct grades or on an age limit of 15 for social media.

What does the research say?

The research on the issues, with no verdict on the party.

Here are six questions about proposals the Moderates highlight, phrased as questions about the issue and not about the party. The answers describe what research has found, in both directions, and where researchers disagree. They say nothing about how a particular proposal would work today.

  1. Does lower tax on work put more people into jobs?

    Calculations made when the earned income tax credit was introduced in 2007 assumed around 70,000 to 80,000 more people employed in the long run. When IFAU later evaluated the credit with register data, it was not possible to separate the effect reliably from other factors, because almost everyone received the credit and there was no comparison group. Internationally, studies of targeted deductions mostly show that more people start working, but that those who already work change their hours little. The disagreement is mostly about method: the models predict effects that are hard to measure afterwards.

    Edmark, Liang, Mörk and Selin (2016), The Swedish Earned Income Tax Credit: Did It Increase Employment?, FinanzArchiv 72(4). Flood (2010), Tax policy and labour supply, SNS.

  2. Do requirements for something in return in social assistance lead to more people in work?

    When some districts in Stockholm but not others introduced compulsory activation for people on social assistance, more people left the benefit and employment rose, most for young people and for people born outside the Western world. The result applies to a local context. The researchers discuss to what extent the effect is due to more people getting jobs or to more people choosing to give up the benefit without getting work.

    Dahlberg, Johansson and Mörk (2009), On Mandatory Activation of Welfare Recipients, IZA Discussion Paper 3947.

  3. Do longer sentences reduce crime?

    Research reviews judge that the risk of being caught deters considerably more than the length of the sentence, and that long sentences are hard to justify by deterrence alone. Some studies nevertheless find that expected sentence length matters: after an Italian amnesty, those who risked longer sentences reoffended somewhat less often. In addition, someone in prison cannot commit crimes outside. Researchers disagree about whether time in prison in itself increases or decreases reoffending after release.

    Nagin (2013), Deterrence in the Twenty-First Century, Crime and Justice 42. Drago, Galbiati and Vertova (2009), The Deterrent Effects of Prison: Evidence from a Natural Experiment, Journal of Political Economy 117(2).

  4. Do citizenship requirements affect integration?

    There are two views: that citizenship should be a reward for completed integration, or that citizenship itself helps integration. Studies from Switzerland, where local referendums decided applications by narrow margins, find that those who received citizenship became more politically integrated and had higher incomes in the long run, especially those in the weakest position. The research says less about how individual requirements such as language, civics or self-sufficiency affect integration before citizenship is granted.

    Hainmueller, Hangartner and Pietrantuono (2015), Naturalization fosters the long-term political integration of immigrants, PNAS 112(41). Hainmueller, Hangartner and Ward (2019), The effect of citizenship on the long-term earnings of marginalized immigrants, Science Advances 5(12).

  5. Is new nuclear power a cheap way to get fossil-free electricity?

    Swedish modelling has found little or no cost advantage in building new nuclear power in a future Swedish electricity system, given the costs that were assumed. European studies have instead found that a system with only renewable electricity can be around 30 percent more expensive than one that includes nuclear power or carbon capture. The answers depend greatly on assumptions about construction costs, interest rates, transmission, storage and how flexible consumption is, and there researchers' assessments differ.

    Kan, Hedenus and Reichenberg (2020), The cost of a future low-carbon electricity system without nuclear power: the case of Sweden, Energy 195. Zappa, Junginger and van den Broek (2019), Is a 100% renewable European power system feasible by 2050?, Applied Energy 233.

  6. Does a care guarantee shorten waiting times?

    Swedish studies of the first care guarantee from 1992 showed that waiting times, for example for cataract operations, fell without the patients with the greatest needs being crowded out, but the effect faded over time. The OECD's review of several countries describes that guarantees mostly work when combined with follow-up, financial consequences or extra resources. It is debated how much longer other patients, for example those waiting for follow-up visits, have to wait when the guarantee is prioritised.

    Hanning and Lundström (2007), Waiting for cataract surgery: effects of a maximum waiting-time guarantee, Journal of Health Services Research and Policy 12(1). OECD (2013), Waiting Time Policies in the Health Sector: What Works?

Read next

The issues on our theme pages.

The page reports what the Moderates themselves write in their programmes and their election manifesto, retrieved 27 October 2026. The research section describes the research on the issues, not the party.