Åkesson sets 10-day deadline for Liberal support

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson says the Liberals must reach at least 3.5 percent in opinion polls 10 days before the election to continue receiving support from voters in the centre-right bloc, SVT reports.

“At some point there is a deadline for when you stop hoping for them,” Åkesson said during SVT’s party leader interview.

He urged Sweden Democrat voters not to cast strategic votes for the Liberals if the party remains below that level. In his view, the Moderates and Christian Democrats should primarily provide any such support, although they should also have a limit.

“I have not spoken to Kristersson about this. This is an analysis that we have made,” Åkesson said, referring to Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson.

The Liberals face a significant risk of losing their seats in parliament. In the latest SVT/Verian poll, the party had 1.9 percent support, while the parliamentary threshold is 4 percent.

Åkesson described the Liberals as political opponents in ideological terms, saying the two parties stand on completely different sides on issues including the European Union, the euro, climate policy and development aid.

At the same time, he said he hoped the Liberals would remain in parliament.

“I am not saying that the cooperation has been bad. On the contrary. But I mean that if the Liberals had not been part of this cooperation, we could have achieved even more,” he told SVT.