Voters were surprised and amazed on Saturday morning. Those who had lined up at the People's House in the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby were suddenly joined by the leader of the Sweden Democrats.
A little boy held the door open for Åkesson, who patiently stood in line and declined to be given priority into the polling station.
It's not very often, I must admit, but there is a lot of talk about Rinkeby and it's not strange if you go here, he says about the last time he was in Rinkeby.
No political marking
However, Åkesson does not think that as party leader, choosing to vote early in a suburb where more than nine out of ten residents, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB), have a foreign background, is a political mark.
"It's probably entirely in the eye of the beholder and what your starting points and values are... it might say more about you than me," he answers a journalist.
The contrast in the voting queue was also great. Around him and outside the polling station, Åkesson in a light blue jacket had a lot of voters wearing veils or full-covering garments, precisely the kind of garments that the party has now gone to the polls on wanting to see a ban on wearing.
"This doesn't look like Sweden. That's how it is. This is a completely different part of Sweden. It's clear that it's remarkably tangible," he says.
Sweden shouldn't look like this, I think.
When TT asks Åkesson to elaborate on what he wants to see instead, the SD party leader highlights the development in Rinkeby, a classic example of the Million Programme housing built in the 1960s.
Architecturally, it's quite discouraging. This is what the social workers want to build in well-functioning residential areas all over the country. Then it's clear that we have a huge number of people here who wear various types of covering garments. It's an expression of values that I don't think belong in Sweden.
Critical of the debate
He is almost equally critical of Friday's final debate on SVT, where the aftermath was about how party leaders interrupted each other and the sometimes harsh tone.
Isn't there a risk that something like this will actually fuel a disdain for politicians among voters?
Absolutely. I don't think they managed to handle that debate anywhere near as well as TV4 did the day before. Then I think SVT had chosen more relevant topics. A combination of the two debates would have been the perfect debate.
