Leader of Swedish Liberal Party, part of ruling coalition, to step down

Swedish Liberal Party Leader to Resign Before Election

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden's Liberal Party leader Johan Pehrson will step down from his post, he said on Monday, adding that the timing of his resignation will give a new candidate a chance to boost the party's flagging support ahead of a general election next year.

Pehrson, who has been Liberal leader for three years, said he would also step down as education minister in the minority coalition government led by the Moderate Party and backed by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, but did not say when.

The Liberal Party is the smallest of the three parties that formed the right-of-centre government following a 2022 election and has since seen its popularity slip further.

Support for the party fell to 2.8% in an opinion poll for public broadcaster SVT earlier this month compared with the 4.6% of the vote it won the 2022 election.

Parties need at least 4% of the vote to secure seats in parliament.

"I'm proud of the Liberals even if the party (support) is a bit too low in the opinion polls," Pehrson told a press conference.

Liberal supporters have been divided over relations with the Sweden Democrats, long seen as pariahs in Swedish politics because of their roots in the far-right.

The Sweden Democrats were the second biggest party at the last election, overtaking the Moderates, but had to accept a role supporting the government from outside.

Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Akesson has said his party will demand cabinet posts if it is in a position to do so after next year's election.

The Liberals' official position is that they would not support a government that contains the Sweden Democrats and would vote against any coalition that party tried to form.

Sweden will go to the polls again in September 2026 with the opposition Social Democrats currently the most popular party.

(Reporting by Simon Johnson, editing by Terje Solsvik and Ros Russell)