New survey shows mixed approval ratings for government in Sweden

A new budget has been proposed, the Social Democrats’ lottery has been scrutinized, and the investigation into financing new nuclear power developments has been presented. Amid these developments, a recent SVT/Verian survey indicates that 45% of voters believe the government is performing well. This reflects a decrease of 3 percentage points compared to the previous poll, although this change is not statistically significant.

Per Söderpalm, the opinion manager at Verian, noted, “In the first half of the year, the government’s approval rating clearly increased, a trend that has now reversed. It seems that the autumn budget and the subsequent debate have not improved voters’ perceptions of the government’s work.”

Meanwhile, the opposition remains steady, with 48% of respondents believing they would perform well if in power. Notably, fewer voters think the opposition would manage their responsibilities worse than the current government, with 42% expressing this view—a statistically significant change from the 47% recorded in June.

Söderpalm pointed out, “It’s noteworthy that the opposition’s rating as a government alternative hasn’t weakened despite extensive criticism of the Social Democrats’ lotteries. Instead, the opposition appears to be solidifying its position compared to June.”

Additionally, 40% of voters feel a Social Democrat-led government would do a better job than the current administration, maintaining the same percentage as the last survey conducted in June.

The survey included over 1,000 interviews with participants from a randomly selected representative panel, aged 18 to 84, and was conducted from September 23 to 25. The response rate was around 40%.