The election campaign got underway in earnest on Monday. Both the incumbent Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) and his challenger, Social Democratic Party leader Magdalena Andersson, went on bus tours.
Now we are entering the second half, says Kristersson as he boards the election bus outside the Moderate Party's headquarters in Stockholm.
During the day he will visit Eskilstuna and Örebro.
Kristersson says that the "second half" is about clarifying the differences between the two government alternatives.
I am convinced.
According to him, the red-green bloc wants to return to old policies with tax increases, a changed security policy and tougher criminal and immigration policies.
When this becomes clear to Swedish voters, I am convinced that there is support for our line, says Kristersson.
It should be set against an alternative that disagrees on almost everything.
According to Statistics Sweden's large party sympathy survey from May, the difference was just over 12 percentage points between the political blocs.
S leader Magdalena Andersson counters that despite all Kristersson's talk about his government alternative, that alternative does not seem to be appreciated by voters. And that Kristersson does not even know if one of the current government parties will even enter the Riksdag.
Many uncertain
However, the proportion of undecided voters was unusually high in the Statistics Sweden survey. Around 20 percent had not decided which party they would vote for.
Monday's Moderate election promise was that the party promises to abolish the penalty discount for those convicted of multiple crimes at the same time by 2030 at the latest. Something that the red-greens will never be able to agree on, according to Kristersson.
The Moderate leader also points to what he sees as major successes for the current government - for example, the decrease in gang shootings. In Eskilstuna, Kristersson pointed out to local media that the number of shootings in the municipality was 32, but only two so far this year.
Collaborate with everyone
Almost at the same time as Kristersson presented his election promise, challenger Magdalena Andersson boarded her tour bus. She had then launched three principles for how she would lead Sweden as prime minister.
But she leaves it unsaid which parties Andersson wants to govern with.
"First we need to have an election result, then a government will be formed. It would be good if more parties opened doors instead of closing them," says Andersson, who held a town square meeting in Uppsala and visited Furuviksparken in Gävle.
She reiterates that, if she becomes Prime Minister, she is prepared to cooperate on major agreements with all parties except the Sweden Democrats.
