Part-led bus tours still matter in 2026

Sweden’s party leaders will soon take to the road in traditional bus tours, a campaign staple that remains significant despite the rise of social media, according to political scientist Jenny Madestam.

“It can create ripples,” Madestam, an associate professor at Södertörn University, told SVT’s Morgonstudion. She noted that the tours combine festive, grassroots elements with a message that the leader is approachable and engaged with ordinary voters.

Parties tailor routes to signal priorities. Social Democrats are preparing a nationwide bus tour, while Sweden Democrats have already launched a tour along the Göta Canal. Routes can be chosen to highlight issues such as unemployment by visiting areas with higher jobless rates, Madestam said.

She also stressed the tours’ symbolic value in showing that leaders care about regions beyond Stockholm. “It’s very important that they travel outside the capital and into the country,” she said.

Voters themselves benefit from seeing leaders in person, Madestam added, citing U.S. research that shows brief but measurable effects when candidates visit with local party organizations, canvass doors and tailor messages to specific places.