A large proportion of Swedes believe that Sweden is heading in the wrong direction, and never before have so many people felt that their personal finances have deteriorated so much in one year. At the same time, support for Swedish membership of the EU is at a record high and only one in ten Swedes want to leave the Union.
67% of Swedes believe that developments in Sweden are moving in the wrong direction, according to the latest SOM-survey from the University of Gothenburg. At the same time, 13% believe that things are moving in the right direction. Over the past ten years, development has never before been considered to be as bad as it is now, which Johan Martinsson, researcher in political science at the University of Gothenburg, considers to be “record pessimism”.
The proportion of Swedes who believe that their personal finances have deteriorated has also never increased so much in one year. 34 percent stated that their finances have deteriorated in the last twelve months. The year before, 15 percent said the same thing. In general, 78% believe that the Swedish economy has deteriorated over the past twelve months; last year this figure was 35%.
The proportion who believe that Sweden should take in fewer immigrants has decreased slightly, but a larger proportion still believes that it should “take in fewer refugees”.
Confidence in Swedish politicians stands at 41%, while 34% believe the government is doing its job very/quite well, down from 37% last year.
At the same time, support for the EU is at a record high in Sweden. 68% of Swedes are in favor of membership, which is an increase from 2021. At the same time, 11% are against membership.
– It may be a question of a slow general acceptance, as well as a shift in the focus of EU policy from mainly the economy to other issues, but this latest large increase is probably mainly about the situation with war in the immediate area, says Patrik Öhberg, associate professor of political science and researcher at the SOM-institute.
The SOM-Institute is an independent research organization at the University of Gothenburg that has existed since 1986. The Institute conducts its own research and collaborates with others in two of its regular major research projects - the SOM-surveys and the Citizens' Panel.
