Moderate Party: 21.6%
Liberal Party: 6.6%
Centre Party: 6.0%
Christian Democrats: 4.4%
Government: 38.7%
Social Democrats: 46.2%
Green Party: 6.0%
Communist Left: 5.0%
Opposition: 57.3%
The latest opinion poll gives Sweden's centre-right government coalition support by less than 39 per cent of the voters. That's a disaster. In September 2006, the same four-party coalition managed to get a majority of the seats in parliament. Now they would get fewer seats that the largest opposition party alone.
I think one of the explanations can be found in the lack of ideology. Most high-ranking politicians seem to think ideology has no importance in modern society—they think it is outdated. I disagree.
I see an obvious connection between the Moderate Party's political triangulation and the decline of voter interest. Since Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt became leader of the party, he has used triangulation in order to take voters from the Social Democrats. In the beginning, it seemed a bold move that voters appreciated. However, over time—as the ideological differences between the liberal-conservatives and social democrats has turned blurry—people no longer see any significance in voting one way or another. That's why silly, little scandals get such an importance. When politics doesn't matter, when the Left and the Right are the same, tabloid journalism about who's kissing who in nightclub restaurants seem more important.
It's time to put an end to triangulation. It trivializes politics and turn political life into a farce. I want the centre-right coalition to rethink some of its policies and give the electorate a real choice in the 2010 general election. It's not too late to turn things around, but we have no time to lose.