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Politics

Social Democrat slide continues: poll

Published: 4 Jun 10 07:40 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/27030/20100604/

The Social Democrats have continued their election year slide in the opinion polls and are now smaller than the Moderate Party and under 30 percent for the first time in a Demoskop poll.

According to the new poll, conducted by Demoskop and published in the Expressen daily, Mona Sahlin's Social Democrats fell 3.9 percentage points in May and now command the support of 29.9 percent of voters.

Fredrik Reinfeldt's Moderates have in turn continue to perform strongly, claiming 34.5 percent of the electorate - their highest since the 2006 election and making them the largest party.

The poll shows a 6.6 percent lead for the centre-right coalition over the centre-left with the Alliance polling a total of 50.9 percent to the opposition's 44.3 percent.

While the poll showed strong gains for the Alliance coalition as a whole the Centre Party was the only other of the four to increase, up 0.6 points to 4.8 percent. The Liberal Party (Folkpartiet) polled 7.6 percent, down 1.4 points, while the Christian Democrats dropped 1.4 points to 4 percent.

The Green Party remained buoyant with 9.8 percent, while the Left Party declined slightly, dropping 0.2 points to 4.6 percent.

The Demoskop poll is the second consecutive opinion survey which shows the Alliance in the lead with the Synovate May poll showing a total of 48.3 percent to the "red-greens" 46.5 percent. In total only the third monthly poll showing a centre-right lead since the general election in 2006.

Demoskop interviewed 1,177 people from May 26th-June 2nd and asked "Which party would you vote for if parliamentary elections were to be held today".

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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08:28 June 4, 2010 by AdamVikingen
This is intresting cuz whenever Demoskoå makes a poll the oppositation partys are failing, but whenever any other poll makes one the opposition i leading big time! Guess its becouse Demoskop only asks about 1000 peole and then says that it is the entire nation who thinks like that!

For gods sake, demoskop cant do ther work, let SIFO do it instead!
08:57 June 4, 2010 by Kronaboy
@AdamVikingen

wow talk about shameless advertising;))
09:38 June 4, 2010 by bbeynch
This is of course good news for Sweden. These misguided social democrats have been a destructive force in Sweden for too long. At this point they deserve to be demoted to a footnote in history. Their tax hiking equalization actions during their last years of influence have been the equivalent of of circular firing squad, and they've almost taken Sweden along with them. It's time for Sweden to change its footing and start a more patriotic approach to governing. Vote wisely in september!
09:38 June 4, 2010 by smith0111
hi it is brad heir highest since the 2006 election and making them the largest party.Demoskoå makes a poll the oppositation partys are failing, showing a total of 48.3 percent to the "red-greens" 46.5 percent.

Smith

The Finance Firm
09:47 June 4, 2010 by sruk
..Yes vote wisely in September..those reds kept Sweden as a second best country in the world for far too long, lets do as Greece did, get right wingers again, hire GoldmanSucks to cook the books..and live happily ever after...
09:55 June 4, 2010 by Tammybonny
haaaaaaa good news for Sweden............
10:12 June 4, 2010 by Kevin Harris
With European socialist economies falling off a cliff, or balancing on the edge, six hour working days, tax increases and money for everybody are a tough sell at the moment. Poor Mona needs the communist votes, but they have pulled her too far to the left and made her look ridiculous. Closing American bases for example. People just don't want to hear that kind of nonsence associated with a future prime minister. She can't present herself as a moderernising force for change and hope in Sweden while she's so clearly under the control of Communists stuck in a time warp.She's in a tough spot; if she cuts the communists, she loses vital votes. If she keeps the communists she loses vital votes.

I suggest she cuts them. Better to win or lose representing her own SD values rather than the Communists ones she is clearly uncomfortable with. If she wins, where on earth is she going to put Lars Ohly? Minister for paper clips? A special mission to Outer Mongolia? Political officer for the simulated three year mission to Mars?
10:17 June 4, 2010 by EtoileBrilliant
Every time their poll reading drops they come up one more crazy idea thinking "this one will bring us back into contention" and every time it distances them more and more from the main electorate.

How about keep quiet for once?
10:49 June 4, 2010 by bbeynch
Funny. In the picture above, Mona looks like she just farted and has a sick feeling of mashed potatoes in her undergarment.
13:49 June 4, 2010 by Audrian
This research does not seem to answer questions that are crucial to its conclusions: (1) is it claiming that poor people are poor because they have low IQ and offspring of rich families have high IQ because of their parents wealth. (2) Is it also claiming that Swedes have higher IQ than the rest of Western Europe? It looks like it is a continuation of biological research of the last century, which is associated with Sweden, and, which was later, picked up by the Nazis. One of the most notorious German researchers Dr Mangelene (not sure of the spelling) conducted his biological research in Namibia, a German colony in Southern Africa at that time, and continued his research in Germany on Jews and Roma people. (3) In the US there were several researches of this type done by institutions affiliated to Nazi organizations or funded by them, which were done with the attempt to show superiority of the rich, white, elite. (At one time the Japanese were claiming that they were superior to Americans including whites.)

Who is interested in this kind o f research? (1) By claiming that the poor are responsible for their poverty absolves of the rich of any responsibilities, even though most got their initial wealth was acquired through plunder and theft. (Read for example the History of the people of the US, by Howard Zinn). (2) This claim also rationalizes elite rule by the claim that they have high IQ and that they are the best to rule. In the US, it is those who beholden to the banks and big corporation that rule. Those who do not play by this rule do not have any chance of being elected for major political offices.

Correlation studies, which the finding of this study is based on, often fail to control confounding variables. I suspect this study is done by PhD student. The professors who examine him or her concentrate on the statistical techniques rather than the quality of the outcome of the study. I think we should look at this research with a grain of salt!
14:04 June 4, 2010 by glamelixir
Polls are opinion builders not reflections of reality.

Nobody I know have been interviewed for a poll, all of them are voting for the social democrats.

This "polls" are in the media for people to vote for "the winner" as it is demostrated psychologically that people want to be winners so they vote for winners unconciously.

Please think carefully what you are going to vote and THE LOCAL be responsible and stop publishing this kind of articles.

Thank you.
14:04 June 4, 2010 by bbeynch
@audrian: And how does this link up with the topic at hand, social democrat slide in the polls? Help me out here. I'm lost!
14:21 June 4, 2010 by Audrian
Re bbeynch. Sorry about it. To avoid spelling error I write my comments elsewhere before I paste them in the discussion board. I wanted to delete it but I did not how! This was what I had wanted to write in response to your comment #3.

Social democracy is the life savior of Capitalism. Immediately after WWII, those who lived below poverty line in Europe were the vast majority. Workers were powerful. Those, who were agitating for the take over of state power, and dethroning capitalist once for all, were gaining ground. The desperate capitalists saw the danger and compromised and social democracy was the outcome of this compromise. It insured that nobody went without food, shelter and a little more. Europe was stable for over fifty years continuously without any incidence since WWII.

By weakening social democracy, as in Britain and US, one is breaking this trust. In the US the wealth gap is getting bigger and the numbers of those who are below the poverty line are one in five. The distrust for government and the state is all time high. Less than 40% of those eligible to vote are voting, which means that a president is often chosen with less 30% of the voting age. The elite rulers in the US were able to distract the attention of the working people by going to war and stirring nationalism. The bogeyman in the cold war was USSR. Since, it is Moslem fundamentalists. It is costing the US about a trillion dollar for war.

Do you want to take US model of capitalism? If you do you are deciding to close opportunities that have been open for working people since WWII, e.g., easy access to higher education, free medicine and more generally a decent life. Compare it with the standard of living of whites and blacks living in Mississippi. They do not have enough food to eat and children do not have access to good education. Those in grade six can hardly read. They do not have TV or central heating. It is comparable to life in Kariba slum, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Be careful what you are wishing for!
15:57 June 4, 2010 by xavidx
Balance.

Reward those who work hard.

Give people choices and oportunities.
17:07 June 4, 2010 by bocale1
Social Democrats have built this country as it is today, it means one of the better in the world for quality of life, education, healthcare, welfare and working opportunities.

Reinfheld is so popular at the moment becuase he did not dare (and he will not do even in the future if he wins) touching any of the basic pillars of this society (Unions, protection to working people, assistance, etc...).

It is not a case that ""Safeguarding the Swedish model" was the title of the presentation Reinfeldt and Borg held for journalists on Friday at Moderate Party headquarters in Gamla Stan"

For me, it is really about voting between to shades of the same color, and I am very happy about it.
09:01 June 5, 2010 by curiousaboutwriting
Socialdemokrates please learn that your PRO IMMIGRANTS proufoundly pronouced attraction is taking you nowhere. Sweden has its own major domestic issues to deal with, unemployment being Key issue. So appearing like you would be the sympathsers - rather play the world mother teresa to bring in more UNPRODUCTIVE folks in the country aint gonna take you nowhere!
23:57 June 5, 2010 by bbeynch
@curiousaboutwriting: Don't you know that this is how they get votes! Their electorate consists mainly of freeloaders, and lazy unionized socialists who prefer to parasite off others. Being pro-immigrant, and rasing taxes, are they only ways they know how to govern.
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