Sweden’s Gender Gap Deepens Ahead of the 2026 Election

A recent Statistics Sweden survey shows men are twice as likely as women to back the far-right Sweden Democrats, while female support for the Social Democrats exceeds that of men by ten points. If only women voted, the left-leaning bloc would capture 64% of the vote; if only men voted, right-leaning parties would secure 51%.

The Guardian

The 2022 election produced a record gender split, and researchers trace a long-standing leftward drift among women and rightward shift among men back to the 1970s. Recent data (June 2026) indicate 39 % of women would vote Social Democrats versus 29 % of men, while 25 % of men and 12 % of women would choose the Sweden Democrats. The Moderates, despite a modest overall 17 % support, show no comparable gender gap.

The Guardian

Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (Social Democrats) campaigns on smaller class sizes, more housing and free dental care for youth. Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson (with neo-Nazi roots) promises tax cuts, tougher public-safety measures and classifying “anti-Swedishness” as a hate crime. Current Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (Moderates) has pledged to admit the Sweden Democrats into government for the first time, offering “big political influence and important ministerial posts within immigration and integration.” The centre-right coalition, dubbed the Tidö parties, argues that a “right with a heart”—including a six-month 50 % public-transport discount—could attract female voters.

The Guardian

Moska Hassas, chair of the Social Democrats’ youth wing (SSU), denounced right-leaning rhetoric as a “sick backlash” that revives traditionalist ideas such as women staying in the kitchen and being excluded from conscription. She warned that disillusioned young men are being drawn into male-only far-right clubs and criminal gangs, a development she called “very dangerous.”

The Guardian

• “The fact that women have not shifted to the right to the same extent, regardless of whether they work in the public or private sector, stems from their greater reliance on a well-functioning welfare state, given that they still bear the primary responsibility for caregiving in the private sphere.” — Lena Wängnerud, political science professor, University of Gothenburg

The Guardian

• “They vote about economics. Not ‘is it good for people? Is it good for children? Is it good for …?’, No, no, no. For them it is high salaries, low tax on petrol.” — Nelly Ailo, pharmacy assistant

The Guardian

• “They [right-leaning political parties] are so desperate that they don’t know that young women also care about politics,” — Moska Hassas, SSU chair

The Guardian

• “All the traditional values – that women should be in the kitchen, which we have heard from Tidö side, that women shouldn’t do conscription – it’s a sick backlash that they are turning back time.” — Moska Hassas, SSU chair

The Guardian