Sweden Democrats

The Sweden Democrats were founded in February 1988. In the first elections the party won less than one percent of the vote. Jimmie Åkesson became party leader in 2005, and in the 2010 election the party passed the four percent threshold for the first time with 5.70 percent and 20 seats.

After that the party grew in every election until 2022, when it became the second largest party in the Riksdag with 20.54 percent. After the 2022 election the party entered the Tidö Agreement with the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. The agreement was presented on 14 October 2022 and gave the Sweden Democrats influence over policy on migration, crime and energy among other areas, but no ministerial posts. According to the government, the budget for 2026 is based on an agreement with the party.

In the 2026 election the party won 17.48 percent and became the third largest party. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson resigned on 17 September 2026. The Social Democrats' Magdalena Andersson was voted down in the Riksdag on 15 October, and on 26 October the Centre Party's Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist announced that she had not found support for a government.

In its statement of principles the party describes its foundation as social conservatism and nationalism. The party says its goal is a society built on community, security and a shared national identity, and it draws on the Swedish idea of the folkhem, the people's home. The programme speaks of "the vision of a restored people's home".

The 2026 election manifesto is called "Safe, free, Swedish" and has 68 points. There the party sums up its goal in the words "Sweden shall be safe, free and Swedish". The party wants the state to take greater responsibility for health care, schools and care services, immigration to be kept low and sentences to be made tougher. On migration the party writes that "Sweden shall have the lowest migration in the EU."

On the economy the party says it wants to lower household costs, especially for electricity, food and fuel. The manifesto says that "Sweden shall always have the lowest pump price in the EU." The party counts on room for reforms of about 95 billion kronor for 2027 to 2030, citing the National Institute of Economic Research, and says that up to a further 140 billion kronor can be freed up through savings in central government spending.

The party wants to cut the tax on electricity to the lowest level the EU allows, make the reduced VAT on food permanent and keep fuel prices the lowest in the EU. The party proposes removing the general payroll levy in sparsely populated municipalities and writing off student debt for public employees who move there. The party wants to move 2.5 percentage points of the pension contribution from the income pension to the premium pension and says no to market rents.

Financing according to the election manifesto: room for reforms of about 95 billion kronor and savings of up to 140 billion kronor through less foreign aid, less money for climate measures the party considers to have little effect, merged agencies, fewer people living on benefits and more efficient procurement. The party also wants a dedicated efficiency minister. The budget for 2026, which the party negotiated with the government, cut taxes on work and pensions by about 21 billion kronor and halved VAT on food to 6 percent from 1 April 2026.

The party wants to raise the minimum activity support from 365 to 500 kronor a day and says no to cuts in unemployment insurance. In the longer term the party wants a state unemployment fund. The party proposes an offensive against work-related crime with higher penalties and checks on construction sites based on a Finnish model instead of today's ID06. According to the party, people who do not want to learn Swedish should not receive social assistance.

The party wants to abolish the sentence discount when someone is convicted of several crimes at once and remove the possibility of reducing sentences on grounds of equity. The party proposes an inquiry into special legislation against gang criminals, including registration and restrictions on where they may move. According to the party, prisoners should work for their keep. The party also wants a public register of people convicted of sexual offences against children and a national ban on begging. On 20 October 2026 the party asked the caretaker government for a quick decision on a reform of the Penal Code.

The party wants permanent residence permits to be converted into temporary ones and municipalities to be able to refuse to receive asylum seekers, except refugees from neighbouring regions. The aim is for 2027 to be the year with the fewest residence permits in 20 years. The party wants the remigration grant to also apply to people who have become Swedish citizens and citizenship to be revocable in more cases. In schools the party wants "Swedish norms and values" to be taught and the subject Swedish as a second language to be abolished. The party also proposes a national ban on full face veils in public places and a centre against political Islam.

The party wants to expand nuclear power and cut the tax on electricity to the EU minimum. The party says no to a higher fuel reduction obligation and no to a tax on plastic bags. The party wants to remove funding for climate measures it considers to have little climate benefit, and those savings are counted towards financing other proposals.

The party wants the state to take over responsibility for health care from the regions and personal assistance to become a state matter. The party proposes that the higher high cost protection in dental care should apply to all adults. In elderly care the party wants a statutory minimum staffing level in care homes, an end to minute by minute scheduling in home care and an accident investigation board for elderly care. The party also wants state psychiatric residential homes.

The party wants the state to take over responsibility for schools from the municipalities. The party wants more screen free schooling, more factual knowledge in the first school years and state support for village schools in rural areas. According to the party, school meals should include meat, fish or poultry every day. In school choice the party wants the proximity principle to carry more weight.

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.

On making the reduced VAT on food permanent, the National Institute of Economic Research (KI) writes that a permanent cut would mean a lasting weakening of public finances, and the Fiscal Policy Council that the cut makes it harder to move towards a uniform and efficient tax system. The Climate Policy Council judges that lower fuel taxes, together with the lowered biofuel blending obligation, are the measures that have had the greatest effect on rising emissions, and that low fuel prices hold back the transition. On lower electricity tax, the Council writes that a lower electricity price can to some extent stimulate electrification but works against efficient energy use. We have not found any statement by a public authority on the proposals on the general payroll tax in sparsely populated areas or on the pension contribution.

We have not found any statement by a public agency on raising the activity support to SEK 500 a day, on a state-run unemployment insurance fund or on inspections of construction sites based on the Finnish model.

On the type of proposal to abolish the sentence discount for multiple offences and the 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 and partly removing the equity grounds but did not advise against that part. In October 2025 the Swedish Prosecution Authority supported the penal reform inquiry's proposals on equity grounds and a stricter penalty scale for multiple offences, and the Swedish Police Authority was positive. Brå advised against the inquiry's proposals and warned that the number of prisoners could almost double. We have not found any statement by a public authority on the party's proposals that prisoners should work for their keep, a public register of people convicted of sexual offences against children or a national ban on begging.

On making permanent residence permits temporary, the Swedish Migration Agency wrote on 19 December 2025 that strong reasons are needed to change such a decision and that the reform would cost billions of kronor, and on 18 June 2025 that the phase-out would bring more extension cases and more refusal and deportation decisions. On the higher re-emigration grant, Delmi advised against the proposal on 22 August 2025 and wrote that there is no scientific support for higher grants increasing re-emigration, and the Swedish National Financial Management Authority found the effect difficult to judge. On revoking citizenship, JO wrote on 26 May 2026 that citizenship has strong constitutional protection and advised against the alternative proposal as too imprecise.

The Swedish Energy Agency wrote in its consultation response of 23 August 2023 that a lower reduction obligation makes it difficult to meet Sweden's climate targets. The Swedish Climate Policy Council writes in its report of 19 March 2026 that the lowered reduction obligation and lower fuel taxes are the measures that have had the greatest effect on the increase in emissions during the electoral term. On the government's reduction of the electricity tax, the Council considers that a lower electricity price can to some extent stimulate electrification, but that the decision works against efficient energy use. On state support for new nuclear power, the Swedish Energy Agency held that a model for financing and risk sharing should be market-based and competitive. The statements concern the type of proposal.

On the state taking over responsibility for health care: the Care Responsibility Committee (SOU 2025:62) instead pointed to wider state responsibility in six areas. In its consultation response of 30 October 2025, Vårdanalys wrote that it cannot take a position on full or partial state ownership, since the material lacks an overall weighing of advantages and disadvantages, and that structure and responsibility need further inquiry. Statskontoret agreed that full nationalisation would require a very large agency and wrote that a single agency does not guarantee equal provision. 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. We have not found any agency statement on a statutory minimum staffing level in nursing homes.

On the proposal type, a state takeover of schools, the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket), in its response of 22 March 2023 to SOU 2022:53, judges that greater state responsibility is necessary but that full state ownership of schools would be too intrusive, time-consuming and costly in relation to the needs identified. On proximity in school choice, Skolverket, in its response to SOU 2020:28, considers that pupils should continue to have the right to a place reasonably close to home, but not necessarily at the school closest to home. We have not found any statement by a public authority on state support for village schools or on a requirement for meat, fish or poultry in school meals every day.