Almost 1,000 Swedish politicians have changed parties since the 2022 election. The most attention is now being paid to the defections within the Tidö parties - but also to the fact that several politicians from an unexpected party have switched to the Sweden Democrats.
A briefing from Daily News shows that the Sweden Democrats (SD) and the Liberals (L) have lost the largest share of candidates to other parties ahead of the 2026 election. At the same time, the Moderates (M) and the Christian Democrats (KD) are recruiting the most new names.
But the most unexpected party switch involves former left-wing politician Malin Sääv.
Left V - for SD
Sääv grew up in a left-wing home and later became chair of the local Vänsterpartiet (V) party association in Värnamo. But she increasingly reacted to how the party treated the Sweden Democrats.
- The way the Left Party treated the SD, even when they entered the Riksdag, did not strike me as democratic, to be honest. That they did not want to talk to SD, she says to DN.
When she later moved to Åtvidaberg, she also felt that the Left Party was top-down. Today she sits on the municipal board for SD.
- I haven't regretted it for a second since I made my switch.
”SD works to get its policies through”
Sääv says the differences between the parties are sometimes smaller than voters are told.
- The left focuses more on fighting and countering SD, while SD works to get its policies through, she says, also describing the SD as ”the new workers” party".
The historian Erik Wångmar says that party switching has become more common in Sweden and links the trend to weaker party loyalty and increased dissatisfaction with how parties are governed internally.
What does a politician, with a left-wing background, think about SD's acceptance of the NATO war alliance and the DCA agreement, as well as the passion for Israel