Simona Mohamsson Takes Charge to Revitalize Sweden's Liberal Party

But L leader Johan Pehrson claims that Simona Mohamsson was his first choice.

I would never surround myself with people, not even the party secretary, who always think like Johan Pehrson, he says.

L has been plagued by divisions and bitter conflicts over the years. Not least in connection with the Tidö Agreement with SD in 2022.

Mohamsson was critical of Pehrson not allowing the party board to take a stand on the agreement. She called the L leader's actions extremely undemocratic.

Does not want to dwell

Mohamsson has also profiled herself as a fierce SD critic.

Now it's full focus on the process that I can help create before the election, she says.

I don't like to dwell. 2022, that was the last election.

Pehrson believes that one of Mohamsson's strengths is that she knows how to form opinion in an election campaign. She ran in the EU election 2024 and is considered to have made a good election campaign, even though she did not get a seat in the EU Parliament.

Mohamsson sees two important tasks ahead of her. One is to get the members to work hard to win more voters in the 2026 election.

The party needs more warmth internally. It's important that we take care of each other, says Mohamsson.

The second is to ensure that voters discover the party's policies. Mohamsson expects to travel extensively throughout the country to meet members and participate in campaigns.

Rumors and anxiety

She is L's third party secretary in three years. On Monday, Jakob Olofsgård resigned from the post. This happened at the same time as Minister for Gender Equality Paulina Brandberg (L) announced her resignation.

This has sparked rumors and speculation, which are spreading through various media channels. Within the party, questions are being raised about what lies behind the resignations.

There is some anxiety among some members, says Pehrson.

Brandberg has cited wanting to spend more time with her family as the reason. Olofsgård has stated that he wants to focus on policy issues. He is currently on sick leave and, according to Pehrson, a discussion is underway about whether Olofsgård should remain as a member of parliament.

Pehrson claims that he had conversations with the two before the resignation announcements. According to him, they resigned voluntarily, but he does not want to reveal what was said.

The resignations came at an inopportune time for L, which recently launched a new vision program. It was supposed to be a fresh start for the party, which has long been below the parliamentary threshold in opinion polls. The speculation and rumors make it difficult to market the vision program.