With just over six months until the election on September 13, C is clearly below its result in the 2022 parliamentary election, which was 6.7 percent. It is now around 5 percent in polls.
At a press conference, Thand Ringqvist and party secretary Hannes Hervieu present the party's election plan, where one of the goals is to grow at national, regional and municipal levels.
C has so far been too unclear in its policies, and having three different party leaders in less than a year has not helped either, according to Thand Ringqvist.
Many people are probably wondering what the Center Party stands for.
Does not seek government power
The two other goals are to replace the Tidö government and gain decisive political influence to implement the Center Party's policies, which are about more jobs, reduced emissions and ensuring that all of Sweden thrives. The goal is therefore not to be part of a government.
We can imagine being a support party. For the Center Party, the most important thing is to have an impact on the issues we are running on in the election. For some parties, government power is the only important thing, not the substantive issues, says Thand Ringqvist.
The party leader announces that C will never allow the Left Party into a government nor will it support a government that is dependent on the Sweden Democrats.
To the straightforward question, are we prepared to hold new elections, the answer is yes.
"Far-right parties" should be kept from influence, she says. The reason why C cannot accept V is, among other things, that they want to raise taxes on labor.
We have extremely different visions of how to solve the most important issues. They want to raise taxes on most things that create jobs and pursue a climate policy that shames people.
They also have a very centralist view of how to make a country function.
Ultimatum from V
When asked whether the Center Party could collaborate with V on the budget if it were outside the government, Thand Ringqvist says the question is hypothetical and refers to V leader Nooshi Dadgostar saying that she intends to vote down any government that V is not in.
C can sit in government or collaborate with five of today's eight parliamentary parties – the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, the Liberals, the Social Democrats and the Green Party, she continues.
There are only two prime ministerial candidates with whom C can collaborate: S leader Magdalena Andersson or M leader Ulf Kristersson.
