Andersson, who took over from Stefan Löfven in November to become Sweden’s first female leader, told the Guardian in an interview while campaigning near Stockholm that the fallout would be significant if right-wing parties win Sunday’s vote . A second result for the Sweden Democrats could lead to a coalition with the Moderates, an established center-right party that has moved to embrace the populists. “There are right-wing populist parties in many European countries, but the Sweden Democrats have deep roots in Swedish neo-Nazis and other racist organizations in Sweden,” Andersson said, speaking on a campaign bus with the words Vårt Sverige kan bättre (Our Sweden may do better). “And yet today, I mean just last week, an employee at their headquarters invited the other employees to celebrate the Nazi invasion of Poland during the second world war. I mean, it’s not like the other parties.” In other examples, he cited a television interview in February in which party leader Jimmie Åkesson refused to say whether he preferred Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin, and Åkesson’s recent criticism of Center Party leader Annie Lööf’s tone , since he was the suspected target. a terrorist attack. “Having this party have a say in every government decision would of course mean a lot. And it would also mean a lot for Sweden and for the tone of the political debate,” he said. While Andersson insisted that the majority of Sweden Democratic voters were “decent people” disappointed with the status quo, she said there was a narrow circle that included MPs who “act and have ideas that are far removed from the majority of the Swedish people”. The election comes at a tumultuous time for Sweden, amid growing hostility from Russia as it prepares to join NATO, a pan-European energy crisis and violence on the streets. So far this year, through early September, there have been 273 shootings, 47 of which were fatal, according to police statistics. And the pandemic has revealed stark disparities in living conditions between migrants and refugees. Magdalena Andersson meets people in Borlange. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/AFP/Getty Images While Anderson said she did not see Russia as an “immediate military threat”, she added: “It is very important to have these security assurances that we received from the UK, US, France, Germany and many other countries in our application in NATO. . We are very grateful for that, it means a lot to us.” Calling for Europe to become less dependent on Russian gas, he said gas and electricity prices must be “decoupled”. “We are all affected by Putin’s energy war against Europe with the low supply of Russian natural gas. The lesson we have to learn is, in the long term, not to be so dependent on Russian gas, and in the short term we have in the European Union to decouple gas prices and electricity prices, that is absolutely necessary.” Asked why she wanted to continue the job when the challenges, at home and abroad, are so difficult, Andersson – speaking between visits to Norrtälje and Botkyrka, both near Stockholm – said she wanted to help the country in hard times. As her bus, well stocked with pick’n’mix sweets, took part in the campaign events, she was greeted with circular placards on her face and the sound of Fyra nya år! (Four New Years!), the party’s youth championship song. In one, a small group of women sang a song dedicated to “Magda,” her nickname, to the tune of Yellow Submarine. At her first stop, at a community center in Norrtälje, she warned voters that the election was extremely even. He said the vote was about “what kind of Sweden we want and how we want our country to develop”. At the second, a family event in Botkyrka, he urged hundreds of parents to “go and vote”. Anderson poses for a photo with a girl in Botkyrka. Photo: Jessica Gow/AP If she remains prime minister after Sunday’s election, she said Ukraine would be “top of the agenda” and her priorities at home would include reducing gang violence, creating an inclusive society, increasing employment in segregated areas , protecting welfare, stopping private companies from profiting from the school system and accelerating the green transition. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “What we’re seeing right now in Sweden is fantastic, with thousands of jobs in the new green industry, like battery factories and mineral-free steel production, so we really have potential to show the world that you can accelerate the green transition and they have good prosperous growth with many new jobs”. He spoke positively of Boris Johnson, who he said had “shown a lot of leadership” in Ukraine and whose security assurances in Sweden he appreciated. “If I go on, I’m looking forward to working with Liz Truss,” he added. Andersson said it was not particularly important to her if she became Sweden’s first elected female prime minister (she succeeded Löfven after a vote in parliament), although she acknowledged it would be “good for Sweden”, adding that she had seen what other women and girls to see her lead the government. “They are happy that we finally got there. So it’s an important symbol – maybe more important than I thought before I was elected, to be honest. And of course if I could also be elected in a general election, that would be another important step for Sweden.” The treatment of Sanna Marin, the prime minister of Finland, with whom she has worked closely, after footage of her dancing emerged highlighted the unfair treatment of female leaders, she said. “I don’t think it would have been global news in the same way if it had been a man.” He believes the 36-year-old’s relative youth also contributed to how she was targeted. In Botkyrka, Ingalill Strömqvist, 76, said she was satisfied with Andersson’s performance so far as prime minister as she was “very strong and clear about what she thinks”. Serkan Elcen, 37, an engineer, said his priorities in the vote were energy policy and security, adding that it was a difficult time with Ukraine but that Andersson “handled the circumstances well”. Elcen said: “He’s popular, but it’s very polarized right now.”
