- Should you throw away the friends you have?
Mainly, Christian Sonesson, Staffanstorp's strongman, thinks of the Sweden Democrats. The party has governed together with the Moderates for the last two mandate periods.
- I would like to meet and talk, in any case. It is part of good manners, courtesy and politeness to meet, and perhaps it can continue. There may be other parties as well that you should sit down with, he says.
But to begin with, he wants to think about the political content of the coming term. Next comes the board - and then questions about organization and goals.
- It is a formative time everywhere, in all municipalities and regions, says Christian Sonesson.
- What we avoid is this game of thieves and rascals.
In Smedjebacken and Munkfors, the Social Democrats got over 50 percent of the votes, just like in the last municipal election. For the Moderates in Staffanstorp, having their own majority is new.
In the 1970s and 80s, it was much more common for a party to get its own majority in a municipality, above all the Social Democrats. After the municipal reform in 1971, the party had its own majority in over 100 municipalities.
- The Social Democrats were a clear labor party and many voters worked in industry. Today, the population looks different, and the party no longer has the same standing among voters, says Johan Wänström, political scientist at Linköping University.
He also points out that it has become more difficult for an individual party to reach its own majority as the party system has grown.
- Five parliamentary parties have become eight, and local parties have also been added. It has created a much more divided political landscape, he says.
A party with its own majority often has a strong leader at the front, such as Christian Sonesson in Staffanstorp.
- It is often a leader in whom the voters have great confidence, says Johan Wänström.
"Some", answers Christian Sonesson himself when asked how much of the success can be attributed to him.
- There are, of course, many different factors that come into play. The moderates have ruled for a long time with a good result in our core activities.
For example school, safety and local business climate.
And then there is the clarity, as he calls it.
- We have been good at standing up for what we as a municipality believe, and the decisions we have made. Over the years, there have been few photographers here.
Then it was about caravan accommodation for new arrivals and the refusal to accept quota refugees. Controversial issues that have caused headlines, debates and even been tried in court – but which don't seem to have scared off local voters. Sonesson has caused headlines through his plot to "wash the Liberals" and his subsequently scrapped proposal to invest the municipality's surplus in cryptocurrency.
But he sees the key to success rather in being available to the voters in their everyday life.
- What we are good at is that when Staffanstorp residents get in touch, we respond. The step is never far between the elected representatives and the residents and I think that is super important, says Christian Sonesson.
When he steps out a moment later into the library on the ground floor of the town hall, Staffanstorp residents Arnold and Aleksandra Walfisz come forward to congratulate them on the election results. Both voted for the Moderates in the municipal elections.
- Without a doubt. It was the easiest choice, says Arnold Walfisz.
The reason is the same as Sonesson himself points to: the core operations.
- Since we can't find anything that doesn't work, that means it works, says Arnold Walfisz.
But Arnold Walfisz's vote for the Moderates did not carry over to the parliamentary elections, where he chose another party. He is not alone in that. In Staffanstorp, the Moderates received 52.55 percent in the municipal election, but remained at a significantly lower 28.55 percent in the parliamentary election.
Voters casting their vote for different parties is a phenomenon that has slowly increased, says David Karlsson, professor of public administration at the University of Gothenburg.
Now approximately every third voter shares their vote.
- It is a sign that the voters see the elections as different and that they actually take an independent position on the political situation and the demands of responsibility in the various elections. So you can see it as a positive sign, that there is an awareness, he says.
He points out that even those who vote for the same party in the various elections can make a conscious choice, which makes it difficult to measure.
After the last election, Christian Sonesson took a seat in the Riksdag, but regretted it after a couple of weeks and returned home. He is not keen on a new attempt at national politics.
- No, I think this is my final destination. The day I don't do this, I might do something completely different in life.
