ABSTRACT
The Swedish national election in 2006 was in many respects historic. Not only was it the first time that the centre-and right-wing parties formed an ‘Alliance for Sweden’, it was also the first time that the Social Democrats lost governing power while the economy was strong, and that the centre-and right-wing parties managed not only to win but also to form a majority coalition government. In addition, it was the first time that the largest right-wing party – the Moderate party – campaigned as ‘the new Moderates’ and as ‘the new labour party’. On Election Day, ‘the new Moderates’ was the clear winner, increasing its share of voters from 15.2 per cent to 26.2 per cent.
