That Simona Mohamsson stood as party secretary in April when The Liberals were already in crisis can speak positively for her, says Jenny Madestam, political scientist at Södertörn University.
She is ready to work. I almost assume that she was nominated on the condition that she stays if the party falls out of the Riksdag. I think many who did not stand up to save their own skin are quite grateful now, says Jenny Madestam.
In several opinion polls, The Liberals are at just over two percent. Lying below the Riksdag threshold between elections is nothing new for the party. What makes it extra tough now is how long the poor opinion figures have persisted, says Jonas Hinnfors, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg.
Regardless of who it would have been, the most important task is to unite this party. The challenge is enormously large right now, he says and continues:
The attitude towards SD overshadows everything. Whatever line you take, a part of the party will be critical.
Wanted to combat SD
Simona Mohamsson has previously been critical of the Tidö cooperation. In an interview with SvD from 2021, she said that she entered politics because SD entered the Riksdag and that a driving force for her was to combat their views.
These issues will be presented to her immediately by the media. She may handle it well anyway, but all else being equal, a person with more experience of national politics would have been better. She actually has no really heavy posts on her CV, says Jonas Hinnfors, who until recently was sure that Romina Pourmokhtari would become the new party leader for The Liberals after Johan Pehrson.
Dependent on tactical votes
Where the party stands on the issue of continued cooperation with SD and whether they should be allowed to sit in government or not will likely be decisive in the election, says Jonas Hinnfors.
They will likely become dependent on tactical votes from mainly The Moderate Party. But for a voter to cast a tactical vote for another party, they must first and foremost know that they will belong to the same team.
Another key for The Liberals to pass the Riksdag threshold may be the school issue, according to Jenny Madestam.
Many voters probably have a hard time understanding what The Liberals stand for. Now they have managed to profile the school issue again. One can reclaim ownership of that issue again and that question breaks away from the entire SD discussion, she says.
