Since the turn of the year, the election strategists within the Social Democrats have taken over, says Daniel Suhonen, head of the union-owned think tank Katalys.
We fell back in 2022. Then it will be Damberg who scolds citizens for wasting money and for not borrowing for things.
The Social Democrats invested heavily in party leader Magdalena Andersson in the election four years ago and capitalized on her high approval ratings. Since then, the figures have steadily fallen.
S has also shifted on visitation zones, anonymous witnesses and youth prisons, and sided with the Tidö parties. Surveys show that S votes for basically all proposals the right-wing parties put forward on migration and justice.
A changed party
The question came to a head a few weeks ago when the so-called teenage expulsions flared up.
"I think that gives an idea of the degree of adaptation. They were actually against the deportations, but then they fell back on their talking points about strict migration, because they control the narrative," says Suhonen.
Linn Svansbo, deputy for the Social Democrats in the Stockholm Region and also a former member of the S-association Reformists, agrees with the criticism.
"I don't think we will win people's trust, neither new nor old voters, through any kind of pursuit of very repressive, right-wing politics."
She thinks that S should look to Denmark and New York, where the left has had success. S has been on the defensive against the right's tax cut policies, according to Svansbo.
"We have societal problems where we could instead attack the soaring economic gaps, such as the number of billionaires."
According to the party leadership, S is going to the elections as "a changed party" with proposals that will be noticeable in people's wallets, stronger welfare and increased security.
"I don't think anyone who looks at the Social Democrats feels that this is a completely new party," says Svansbo.
No own policy
Daniel Suhonen agrees that it sounds quite empty in the drawer. Recently, S has criticized Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson (M) for being careless with the economy.
"The problem is that they do not have their own policies in other areas, and that becomes very clear in fiscal policy."
"Now the most important thing is that S delivers sharp election promises and reforms for the working class before the summer," he says.
Corrected: In a previous entry there was an incorrect title for Linn Svansbo.
