Although all the votes have not yet been counted, the election forecast shows that group leader Christofer Fjellner (M) may have succeeded in reversing the downward trend for M in Stockholm. For the first time since 2010, the party looks set to increase in the local elections - by 4 percentage points. At the same time, the gap to the Social Democrats is narrowing.
- It feels very, very nice to prove that Stockholm is the home ground of the Moderates, he says.
He explains the success with two things: Firstly, the Social Democrats have gone too far to the left, and secondly, M has succeeded in meeting the voters on local issues.
- In the inner city, we have talked a lot about security, taxes and school issues. That's where class sizes have really exploded. In the extreme, it has been above all the issue of lost green areas and densification that have been involved.
The alliance colleagues (KD, L and C) with whom Fjellner went to the election do not have the same success in the election forecast. The Christian Democrats and the Center Party increase by 0.3 and 1.0 percentage points, respectively, but the Liberals' big loss of 2.9 percentage points puts a damper on a bourgeois majority.
Are you disappointed that they haven't made the same journey as you?
- If you take the Liberals in particular, on the contrary, I am quite impressed by the journey they have made. If someone had told me two years ago, when they were tearing each other's hair out in the Liberals, that they would achieve this election result in the city of Stockholm and nationally, I would have said that it was quite unlikely.
After election day, the Alliance has met on a couple of occasions to discuss the way forward, according to Fjellner. He says he wants to do everything he can to replace the handlebars he calls "the worst possible".
- The city can be governed in many different ways. Majority, minority, in collaborations with other parties outside or with jumping majorities.
But forming a new coalition government appears to be very difficult. Together with MP, with whom the Alliance has previously cooperated, the parties gather a majority of 50.6 percent. On the other hand, the Green Party has clearly ruled out a green-blue collaboration and assumes that most policies will be passed in a red-green government.
M and L see no possibility of cooperating with SD, against whom C also set up red lines. Neither S nor V want to cooperate with the Moderates.
The fact that he still does not admit defeat is mainly due to two things, he says. First, the election results are not yet completely clear. Secondly, he believes that the red-greens will find it difficult to form a government.
- The conditions look radically different now that the Social Democrats have made a disastrous election in Stockholm. Right now, V and MP together are basically as big as S, which changes the dynamics in between.
He says that MP felt badly treated by S and that it was a reason why the party chose to be part of a green-blue government in 2018. Both environmentalists and the opposition then accused S of having condescended to MP. At the same time, S claimed that MP was not interested in negotiations.
The atmosphere between the red-greens also became chilly when V two weeks before the election presented information that MP held talks with the right. To Expressen, Jessica Nordh, communications manager for V in Stockholm, said that the party was "deeply concerned" that MP would choose to cooperate with the right.
MP leader Lars Strömgren, however, dismissed the information and at the same time sent a boot to the Left Party.
- Our plan is to convince more voters that Stockholm wins with our politics. The Left Party has obviously chosen a different strategy, Strömgren told Expressen.
When asked if the Alliance has anything to offer MP, Christofer Fjellner replies that they are not holding any such discussions.
- While we wait to see if the red-greens manage to do something with their majority, we look at what we would like to do together in the Alliance, in order to then be able to discuss whether there are conditions.
