Trusted for Lööf and Busch

Confidence in party leaders is relatively stable, according to the January Sifo poll commissioned by Expressen. The only statistically significant changes (reductions) affect Annie Lööf (C) and Ebba Busch (KD).

The center leader’s confidence has fallen 4 percentage points to 25 percent since the December poll. The KD leader loses the same amount and ends up at 26 percent. According to Sifo’s head of public opinion, Toivo Sjörén, the Frederick Federley de Lööf deal and the Busch real estate deal may have contributed to the reductions.

– Both have received things that they would rather not talk about. One has the question of how to deal with an EU MP. The other is a more personal real estate business, says Toivo Sjörén.

– They should defend something negative rather than saying something positive about the party’s policy that attracts voters. It may be a delayed effect of these agreements, he says.

Eliasson overshadowed Löfven

At the same time, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (S) appears to escape relatively unscathed from all the negative publicity in connection with the revelation that he acted on Christmas in violation of his own recommendations. 39 percent of voters have a lot or a lot of confidence in Löfven, a decrease of 2 percentage points that falls within the margin of error, according to Sifo.

– Löfven has only marginally decreased from 41 percent to 39. It doesn’t seem like his shopping at the mall has had a major effect. His actions have also been diluted and overshadowed by the MSB chief’s trip and by other politicians for Christmas shopping and flights south, says Toivo Sjörén.

– The behavior probably contributes more to reducing trust in politics and politicians in general than in individual politicians, he says.

Toivo Sjörén mentions the purchases of the Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson in Lund, the ski trip of the Minister of Finance Magdalena Andersson to Sälen and the holidays of the director of MSB Dan Eliasson and the MP Hans Wallmark in Las Palmas.

– When politicians who give advice and recommendations violate them, it affects confidence in politics in general. It mitigates the effect for individual politicians, he says.

Women and men think differently

Stefan Löfven (S) has the highest confidence among voters with 39 percent, followed by Ulf Kristersson (M) with 35 percent. Jimmie Åkesson (SD) and Ebba Busch (KD) share third place with 26 percent with Annie Lööf (C) just behind with 25 percent.

Then there is a jump to the bottom layer. Nooshi Dadgostar (V) and Isabella Lövin (MP) have 13 percent, Per Bolund (MP) has 12 percent, and Nyamko Sabuni (L) is firmly anchored in last place with 7 percent.

– In general, there are quite large differences in trust between men and women. Löfven is trusted by 47 percent of women, 30 percent of men. Ulf Kristersson is trusted by 40 percent of men, 30 percent of women. It’s partly a function of how you vote, says Toivo Sjörén.

Center Party Undersecretary Magnus Demervall writes in a comment:

“Recently Demoskop has shown improvement for Annie Lööf and that confidence has increased, so it is too early to draw conclusions. Our focus now is to reduce the spread of infection, ensure healthcare is well resourced, and save as many businesses and jobs as possible through the pandemic. “