Mood darkens in Sweden as high death rate raises tough questions over lack of lockdown

Sweden's opposition has attacked the government for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with the stubbornly high death rate fuelling questions over the decision not to impose a lockdown.

Jimmie Akesson, the leader of the populist Sweden Democrats, first called for Anders Tegnell, the architect of Sweden's less restrictive coronavirus strategy, to resign. The attacks continued in heated televised leaders' debate on Sunday night.

"The strategy in Sweden was not to try to hold back the infection, but instead to try to limit it at the same time as protecting risk groups," Mr Akesson wrote in a debate article in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

"By that measure, it has failed miserably. Anders Tegnell should therefore resign. Only them will he show the Swedish people that he takes responsibility for the mistakes FHM [Public Health Agency of Sweden] has made."

During a party leaders' debate on Sunday evening, Ebba Busch-Thor, leader of the Christian Democrat party, blamed Sweden's strategy – and by extension the government that allowed it – for some of the 4,659 deaths due to the virus.

"What we can say about Sweden is that many of those who are mourning over those they have lost this spring are doing so because Sweden knowingly and deliberately allowed a large spread of the infection," she said.

Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the Moderate Party, the biggest party on the centre-Right, held back from joining Mrs Busch-Thor's attack on the strategy, instead attacking the implementation of it.

"I had no problem with the strategy. It was a bit slow but, when it was in place, I had nothing against it," he said. "But the government didn't put any power behind the words."

The Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven, continued to back Sweden's strategic decision not to impose a lockdown, instead laying the blame for the death rate on failures within elderly care.

"I think the strategy is the right one," he said. "But it has transpired that that very many people, in certain areas, have died in elderly care. There's no doubt that elderly care needs to be improved."

Mr Akesson faced an immediate counter-attack from Johan Carlsson, the director of FHM, who dismissed his call as "almost pathetic".

Dagens Nyheter's political commentator Ewa Stenberg wrote on Sunday that the debate marked an end to the "borgsfred", or "castle truce", in Sweden.

"The tone was harsh and quite contrary to how it was when the virus hit the country. Then all the parties backed the government's decision to let the Public Health Authority take the lead," she wrote.

However, the return of political opposition does not yet seem to reflect a loss of support for the government among the public.

A new poll by Statistics Sweden, published on Monday, found that the ruling Social Democrats had the support of 33.7 per cent of voters in May , up 7.4 percentage points on the public statistics agency's last poll, published in December.