Liberal leader Mohamsson faces backlash over shift on Sweden Democrats cooperation

Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson is under pressure over her reversal on cooperation with the Sweden Democrats (SD), with all Liberal ministers set to resign if she fails to secure renewed support at an emergency party conference on Sunday, SVT Nyheter reports.

Mohamsson defended her decision in an interview with SVT’s Morgonstudion, stating that many voters had questioned how collaboration with SD would work in practice. “I think very many voters have had doubts about how cooperation with the Sweden Democrats would function, especially at the start of this electoral term,” she said.

Despite the ideological divide, Mohamsson argued that conditions for deeper cooperation have improved. “We have found a way forward,” she said, while acknowledging that SD remains far from her party’s values. “I believe it is a party with a very clear history rooted in nationalism, a party I stand very far from ideologically. But in Swedish politics, you must cooperate with other parties.”

She insisted the recent political turmoil had not changed her leadership. “I am just as liberal today as I was last week. The Sweden Democrats are the same party they were last week. The difference is that the Sweden Democrats have shown they can give and take in cooperation with the Liberals,” Mohamsson told TV4’s Nyhetsmorgon.

Warning against alternatives, she added: “The alternative would be a dangerous leftward shift.”

Local Liberal branches have reacted differently, with the Gothenburg chapter supporting her decision as “courageous,” while Värmland’s branch has called for a no-confidence vote.