Mohamsson defends school record and cooperation with SD

Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson was pressed over Sweden’s falling school results and her party’s cooperation with the Sweden Democrats during an SVT interview. “Honestly, it does not matter what it has done for the Liberals,” Mohamsson said.

Before the previous election, the Liberals highlighted that 16,000 pupils had left lower-secondary school without the qualifications needed for upper-secondary education. During the party’s time in government, the situation has worsened. In 2025, 19,700 pupils left school without those qualifications.

Asked why the results had deteriorated, Mohamsson said Swedish schools had been affected by the wrong culture, including disorder in classrooms, insufficient focus on knowledge and a loss of status for teachers.

“We want to change the culture in Swedish schools,” she said.

Mohamsson proposed higher teacher salaries and smaller classes. Asked how the measures would be financed, she said funding would depend on political priorities when available resources were allocated.

“Growth is a decisive factor in creating a bigger cake to spend on the important things we prioritise,” she said.

Mohamsson also criticised what she called inefficient support services in the public sector. She said as much as 16 billion kronor could be saved in this area, referring to communications officers and others who were not “core actors in the welfare system”.

On the Liberals’ relationship with the Sweden Democrats, Mohamsson said the cooperation had been good for Sweden.

“We have been able to implement our policies,” she said, citing 12 million schoolbooks, investments in teachers, efforts to combat honour-based oppression and a reversal of integration policy.

Several prominent Liberal politicians have left the party because of its cooperation with the Sweden Democrats. Mohamsson said the priority was getting Liberal policies implemented.

“I am not interested in sitting outside with my arms crossed and sulking,” she said.