Swedish Liberal leader staged hug with far-right counterpart to project dominance

The widely discussed hug between Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson and Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson at a press conference was deliberately staged, according to a report by Swedish public broadcaster SVT’s political programme Politikbyrån.

Sources within the Liberal Party told the programme the gesture was intended to project Mohamsson’s dominance, drawing inspiration from former US President Donald Trump’s signature prolonged handshakes. The move was also designed to control the visual narrative, avoiding a repeat of a 2022 press conference where then-Liberal leader Jan Björklund appeared alongside Åkesson to announce a debate tour—a moment some in the party viewed as unfavourable.

Hanne Clivemo, a former close aide to ex-Liberal leader Johan Pehrson and a PR strategist, suggested the hug had already influenced political interactions at the local level. “This kind of hug has started happening between Liberals and Sweden Democrats across the country,” she said during the programme. “We might see a lot more hugging in the election campaign now,” she added jokingly.

The revelation comes as the two parties, traditionally at opposite ends of the political spectrum, have grown closer in recent years through parliamentary cooperation. The Liberal Party has faced internal criticism over its alignment with the far-right Sweden Democrats, a shift that accelerated under former leader Pehrson.