At the municipal level in Stockholm, this year's election is about the cost and availability of housing (particularly for young people), tax cuts and spending, efforts to prevent the recruitment of young people into criminal gangs, and the possibility of the far-right Sweden Democrats playing a role in a right-wing coalition government.
At the regional level, it is more about healthcare and public transport – the two main responsibilities of regional governments – with the Moderates accusing the ruling Social Democrat-led coalition of reducing the number of bus and train routes.
On healthcare, the Moderates want to create smaller, doctor-led clinics, and establish weekend and overnight primary care centres, while the Social Democrats plan to cut waiting times by hiring more staff.
The coalition issue
On August 21st, 2026, the Moderate Party's group leader, Christofer Fjellner said that the party now had no “red lines” against the Sweden Democrats when it came to forming a government after the election, reversing the party's former position in Stockholm. He stressed, however, that the party had no active plans to cooperate with the far-right party.
The Social Democrats, however, have used the spectre of the Sweden Democrats gaining power as a key part of their campaign.
"What has changed today is that we have a situation where the Moderates in Stockholm no longer have any red lines against the Sweden Democrats," Emilia Bjuggren, the Social Democrats' vice mayor for schools, told The Local. "We are now seeing the right-wing parties taking the journey they've taken nationally in Stockholm as well."
One of the Sweden Democrats' main election promises, she warned, was to "demolish Radiohuset", the headquarters of Swedish public broadcasters SVT and SR, in what she described as "an ill-willed attack on free journalism".
Crime
When it comes to crime, the Moderate Party has warned of "express kidnappings" in Kista, where the offices of major tech companies coexist on the borders of troubled, majority immigrant suburbs, with Fjellner visiting the area alongside Sweden's aid and trade minister Benjamin Dousa. He seemed to be referring to attacks in 2017 where Ericsson employees were forced to hand over their credit cards.
One of the Moderate Party's five pledges is to "halve the safety issues" in Stockholm, with more security guards, surveillance cameras, and more use of exclusion orders.
The Social Democrats, on the other hand, are promising to make major investments in social services so they have the resources to identity young people who are at risk of being drawn into criminal gangs, and also to invest in meaningful activities for young people. They also want to expand rapid-response social units and open municipal youth homes to halt gang recruitment.
Housing
The Social Democrats aim to tackle the housing shortage by closing Bromma Airport and turning it into a new residential area with 16,000 homes.
The Moderates, on the other hand, want to help people realise the dream of living in a standalone house, by promoting the construction of 4,000 terraced houses. The party also wants to prevent rental apartment blocks from being built in middle-class areas with detached houses.
The Moderates also want to limit building on green spaces in Stockholm with the goal that half of the city's areas should be green areas or parkland.
Schools and welfare
The Social Democrats are promising to ensure that classes in elementary school (grundskola) have a maximum 25 pupils, and are promising to hire 500 teachers to help achieve this. They also want to abolish free schools. The party also wants to reduce class sizes, but doesn't give a target.
The Moderates are more focused on order in schools, with plans to reduce the use of screens, bring in marks for pupil behaviour, and also to defend the system of free choice in schools.
The Social Democrats are also promising a guaranteed designated doctor for every patient and a transition to needs-based, dignified elderly care rather than stopwatch-timed services.
The Moderates also want to insist on Swedish language proficiency and background screening for all childcare and eldercare staff.
Taxes
The Moderates are promising to cut the tax bill of the average family with children by 10,000 kronor by cutting municipal and regional tax rates by 5,000, which will then come on top of the 5,000 kronor in tax cuts the party is promising nationally.
The Social Democrats are opposed to tax cuts, saying they prioritise improving welfare and education.
Environment
The Social Democrats aim to make Stockholm emissions-negative by 2030 through carbon-free energy, publicly-managed bus lines, and free public transport for upper secondary students.
The Moderates are prioritising the expansion of the electric car fleet by expanding charging stations and are opposed to Social Democrat plans to bring back the Clean Air Zone Class 3 in the city centre, which was voted through by the city government and then blocked at a regional government level in May.
Transport
The Moderates are promising to invest 1.6 billion kronor in increasing the number of departures on SL, the city's public transport company over four years, more than the 1 billion kronor promised by the Green Party, a pledge the Green Party has argued this is not credible given the party's plans for major tax cuts.
Healthcare
The Social Democrats want to shorten waiting times by hiring more healthcare workers, and also want to increase spending on healthcare and elderly care. The party wants to guarantee every patient a named, dedicated doctor at their local primary care clinic (which is also a national policy pledge).
The Moderate Party has focused a lot on eating disorders, accusing the Social Democrats of mismanaging the Stockholm Centre for Eating Disorders since taking over the centre from the private company Mando.
There is also a broader battle over adult and child psychiatric care, with both Moderates and Social Democrats promising to reduce waiting times for treatment.
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