Ahead of the debate, the media has made several revelations about, among other things, extremists in V, as well as corruption allegations against M and SD. At the same time, the Tidö parties are under pressure from public opinion, where the opposition holds a large advantage. The tone was at times heated.
SD party leader Jimmie Åkesson came out strongly and accused V of being a threat to Sweden's security.
The background is Expressen's revelations about anti-Semitic statements or support for groups listed as terrorist organizations, which led to at least 25 V candidates being removed from municipal and regional election lists.
Demanded answers
Åkesson demanded answers from the S leader.
Will Magdalena Andersson allow left-wing extremists, Islamists, and anti-Semites into a government? Or can she guarantee that she would rather give up power than sell out Sweden to these dark forces?
Andersson replied that she takes the allegations seriously, but noted that V has acted.
But unlike Ulf Kristersson, I don't hand out ministerial posts before the election. I wouldn't give a party that had 200 people with Nazi connections on the ballot the keys to Rosenbad.
In his speech, the S leader focused instead on substantive policy. S wants to increase child benefits, implement reforms to lower medicine costs, raise pensions, and abolish the qualifying deduction.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) warned of higher taxes if the opposition wins. He claimed that the Red-Greens "raised or introduced 46 different taxes" during their previous rule and called the Red-Green government alternative "the most left-wing radical" since the employee funds.
He said the election this fall will be decisive.
Either stay the course: continue to get Sweden in order and build a country where effort always pays off and where crime always gets punished. Or change direction as the red-green parties want and raise contributions and increase asylum immigration, said Kristersson.
“Out of the closet”
Regarding C's turnaround the other day, when party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist identified the S leader as the party's "most likely" prime ministerial candidate, Kristersson said:
The center has finally come out of the closet. Most of us already knew it. C wants an SV-MP government, even though they themselves wouldn't even be needed in one now.
V leader Nooshi Dadgostar also responded to the extremist accusations.
We have taken action. These people who have shared things, either now or years ago, are no longer on the lists.
