Sweden's general election in September reveals a record-breaking gender gap: twice as many men as women support the far-right Sweden Democrats, while female support for the Social Democrats is 10 percentage points higher, according to a recent survey by Statistics Sweden. If only women voted, the left-leaning bloc led by Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats would gain 64% of the vote; if only men voted, the right-leaning coalition under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson would get 51%.
Roots of the divide: welfare state vs. tax cuts
Lena Wängnerud, a political science professor at the University of Gothenburg, explains that the leftward shift of women and rightward shift of men has been ongoing since the 1970s. In recent years, the Sweden Democrats have replaced the centre-right Moderates as the main choice for men. Men in the private sector are most inclined to vote rightwing, driven by support for lower taxes, a smaller public sector and less immigration. Women's greater reliance on a well-functioning welfare state, given their primary caregiving responsibilities, keeps them from shifting right.
Nelly Ailo, 41, a pharmacy assistant in Södertälje, says male voters focus on economics: “What is better for them. They vote about economics. Not ‘is it good for people? Is it good for children?’ … For them it is high salaries, low tax on petrol.”
Voter perspectives on current conditions
Ermias Balcha, 23, who works in assisted housing, disagrees with that theory. He says under the current government, conditions for the unemployed and homeless have declined. “It gets worse and worse actually. There are people who are pensioners who hardly get any pension or pay.” Balcha sees the Social Democrats as the best option but acknowledges the party could do more to appeal to men.
The Statistics Sweden survey from June found that 39% of women would vote for the Social Democrats compared with 29% of men, while a quarter of men and 12% of women would vote for the Sweden Democrats. Kristersson's Moderates have no significant gender gap but came third with 17% total support.
Political landscape and far-right influence
The Social Democrats are Sweden's largest party but have been in opposition for four years after the rightwing bloc formed a minority coalition led by Kristersson and supported by the Sweden Democrats. If the centre-right coalition, known as the Tidö parties, wins the next election, Kristersson has pledged to allow the far-right Sweden Democrats into government for the first time, promising them “big political influence and important ministerial posts within immigration and integration”. Observers say the party's influence has already shifted politics rightward, even affecting the supposedly centre-left Social Democrats, who are now hardline on immigration, integration and crime.
Concern among rightwing parties about female support has led to initiatives like a six-month 50% discount on public transport and talk of “a right with a heart”, along with male politicians focusing on fertility and child-rearing. Moska Hassas, chair of the Social Democrats youth association SSU, calls these efforts “humiliating”. She says many girls and young women find them condescending: “They are so desperate that they don’t know that young women also care about politics. 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.”
Among boys and young men, Hassas notes signs of disillusionment being harnessed by extreme forces such as far-right, male-only “active clubs” and criminal gangs. “This exploits these political forces in a very tragic way. It is very dangerous.”
