Opposition retains poll lead

In the latest Sifo poll the government gained the support of 40.7 percent of the electorate while the opposition parties claimed 53.4 percent.

But despite the intense discussion over the summer surrounding the FRA snoop law the gap between the red and blue halves of Swedish politics has declined, if only by 0.7 percentage points.

The respective party’s figures in percent with changes on the previous poll in brackets were as follows: Mona Sahlin’s Social Democrats 42.8 (+1.2), Fredrik Reinfeldt’s Moderates 22.2 (-0.4), the Liberal (Folk) party 6.8 percent (-0.9), Centre party 6.7 (+1.2), Green party 5.5 (-1.1), Left party 5.1 (-0.3) and the Christian Democrats 5.0 (+0.6).

The far-right Sweden Democrats polled 4.4 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points and sufficient to claim seats in parliament at a general election.

The government fairs poorly among younger voters however with the support of only 29 percent of those aged 18-23-years-old. The opposition had the support of 63 percent of this age group.

Sifo interviewed 1,908 people from August 11th-21st and asked who they would vote for if an election were held today.