A strong lead for the opposition parties over the ruling Tidö coalition – which includes the Christian Democrats – in several opinion polls has prompted the Centre Party to pivot its campaign, targeting undecided centrist voters.
"If Tidö crashes, they haven't said they won't consider other options after the election," Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist told TT.
"Our alternative is perceived as much more sensible now. We have been talking about this middle option since January, but back then it sounded so outlandish that no one was interested," she said.
In the latest poll by Verian on behalf of public broadcaster SVT, the Centre Party rose to eight percent, an uptick Thand Ringqvist puts down to many centrist voters not wanting to give influence to the Left Party or the far-right Sweden Democrats.
For both the Centre Party and the Left Party, it will be crucial to emerge as the larger party to gain more leverage in potential coalition negotiations with Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson – which could determine whether a new Social Democrat-run government leans to the right or the left. The Centre Party has rejected the Left Party's only demand for seats in the government, putting the two parties at odds.
The Centre Party's middle alternative relies on the involved parties agreeing on a series of joint projects aimed at boosting employment and cutting emissions. Another demand is to introduce a new target into the fiscal framework – a growth target of at least 2.5 percent over an economic cycle.
But Green Party co-leader Amanda Lind criticised the proposed setup.
"I am surprised that they have this idea of a right-leaning government and are ready to sell out the climate for that dream," she told the Aftonbladet newspaper. "It is simply unreasonable for the Centre Party and Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist to think that a government with the Christian Democrats would be good for the climate." (TT/The Local)
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