At an impromptu press conference in the centre of Visby, on the island of Gotland, Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch kicked off the Almedalen political week by addressing the recent opinion polls, which suggest that the right-wing Tidö coalition is heading for a defeat in the September election.
"Election victory is in danger for the blue-and-yellow team. We need to step it up a gear," Busch said. "But I believe a record-breaking blue-and-yellow comeback is possible."
Her talk about "blue-and-yellow" is no coincidence. Various shades of blue are usually used to represent three of the Tidö parties: the Christian Democrats, Moderates and Liberals. And yellow represents the far-right Sweden Democrats, which isn't in government, but is still part of the coalition. Blue and yellow also happen to be the colours of the Swedish flag, which fits the patriotic message with which the four parties like to associate themselves.
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Busch's recipe for success is to focus on the finances of ordinary families, a well-functioning welfare system, less bureaucracy and a "battle of values".
"I believe the focus needs to be on making welfare work. It's a combination of prioritising it in kronor and ören, alongside reforms to make schools, healthcare and childcare work better."
The Christian Democrats are going into the election promising that "the overall tax burden must not increase", while low-earners should benefit more than high-earners. This means that the party will not automatically agree to a new employment tax deduction which would cut taxes for everyone who works.
"It is not high-earners who should be the primary winners of an economic policy that we are involved in negotiating," Busch said.
"The next four years will not be about heavy tax cuts."
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