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Recently, the government has tried to act by taking a series of measures against the spread of the infection. Entry bans have been issued for several countries, the ban on alcohol in restaurants has been expanded, a new anti-pandemic law has been introduced, and the Riksdag has drawn up a new law. In regions and municipalities, vaccination has started. But the situation remains very serious and begins to erode the confidence of citizens.
In the January DN / Ipso poll, 26 percent think Stefan Löfven has mainly handled the corona outbreak well. This is a decrease of 8 percentage points from December. In a broader perspective, the loss is even clearer. In May, the first time DN / Ipsos asked the question, 49 percent were satisfied with the Prime Minister’s contribution.
Furthermore, the proportion who believe the Prime Minister has mishandled the crisis has more than doubled since May. Now they are dissatisfied for the first time, they are more than satisfied.
Part of the picture is that Stefan Löfven, despite calls from the government to avoid congestion in Christmas shops, visited stores in the city of Stockholm several times during December, something that received a lot of media attention.
A similar loss of confidence can be seen when DN / Ipsos asks about the Minister of Social Affairs, Lena Hallengren (S), as well as the government as a whole.
This could favor the opposition. The parties have also raised their tone against the government, following a period of peace this spring. But voters are not impressed.
The share that describes the opposition’s actions as “bad” has risen by 5 percentage points since December, to 25 percent. Therefore, that proportion is more than double that which gives the opposition a generally good rating.
Nicklas Källebring is an opinion analyst at Ipsos.
– The criticisms of the opposition do not really take hold, they do not seem to be better. So voter support for the Social Democrats is not hurt, but rather increases somewhat in our latest poll, he says.
– We can see that many of the opposition party voters themselves are unhappy with them and that is an unusual pattern.
The January survey confirms the trend observed since late autumn, with a decrease in confidence also in the authorities. In October, 68 percent stated that they had great confidence in the Swedish Public Health Agency. It was after a period of low spread of infection, before the second wave took off. In January, the same proportion fell to 49 percent.
The development of the outward face of authority, state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, appears similar. Confidence in him has fallen to 54 percent, compared to 72 percent in October.
– This is not a popularity contest, it is much more serious than that. Trust is essential to know how many people listen to the authorities and follow their recommendations. This, in turn, is important for the number of people who may risk their lives, says Nicklas Källebring.
The survey also shows that there is growing doubt about the measures taken by the authorities. All other people worry that they are inappropriate. Participation has increased by 6 percentage points since December. This is the highest level of concern since DN / Ipso polls began in March.
It should be noted, however, that those who trust the Public Health Agency and Anders Tegnell are still more than distrustful.
That confidence is falling for MSB (the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) is not surprising, given that CEO Dan Eliasson was forced to resign after his trip to the Canary Islands over Christmas. Nicklas Källebring notes, however, that the authority has been on a downhill slope for a long time. The share that trusts MSBs has now dropped to 28 percent, up from 39 in December.
– One explanation may be that many probably have a rather vague idea of what the role of MSBs really is during the pandemic, says Nicklas Källebring.
During the second wave of the spread of the infection, medical care again found itself in a situation of pressure. Confidence in the business is still stable, with 60 percent in January believing they can get the job done.
The corresponding figure for elderly care is 21 percent, a sharp increase from the December survey. Since then, the elderly in special housing have been vaccinated.
Read more:
DN / Ipsos: Stable opinion situation in January survey
