Liberal Initiative (Sweden)

For Portuguese political party, see Liberal Initiative.

Liberal Initiative Liberalt initiativ
Abbreviation	LI
Chairwoman	Malin Sjöberg Högrell
Vice Chairman	Mohamad Hassan
Secretary	Jennie Claesson
Founders	Malin Sjöberg Högrel Mohamad Hassan Jennie Claesson
Founded	8 June 2026 (2026-06-08)
Split from	Liberals
Ideology	Social liberalism
Political position	Centre
Colours	Purple
Riksdag	0 / 349
European Parliament	0 / 21
County councils	1 / 1,720
Municipal councils	2 / 12,614
Website
linitiativ.se
Politics of Sweden Political parties Elections

The Liberal Initiative (Swedish: Liberalt initiativ; LI) is a Swedish social liberal political party based in Uppsala County. The party was launched on 8 June 2026 by several former Liberals members, including Malin Sjöberg Högrell, Jennie Claesson and Mohamad Hassan.

In the 2026 election cycle, the party is running in Uppsala regional council election and in the municipal council elections in Uppsala, Enköping and Knivsta.

History

The background to the party formation was a conflict within the Liberals about the party's relationship with the Sweden Democrats. On 13 March 2026, several Liberal regional and municipal councillors in Uppsala (Mohamad Hassan, Malin Sjöberg Högrell, Jennie Claesson) announced that they were withdrawing their candidacies after the Liberals opened up to form a government together with the Sweden Democrats. Sjöberg Högrell, who was then regional councilor and chairwoman of Liberal Women in Uppsala, also left the post of chairwoman of the Liberals' county association but remained as regional councilor for the remainder of her mandate.

On 8 June 2026, Sjöberg Högrell, Claesson and Hassan launched the Liberal Initiative. Former liberal politicians in Enköping and Knivsta also joined the new party. Sjöberg Högrell described the party as a classic social liberal centre party and said that its long-term goal was gaining representation in the Riksdag. However, the party decided to focus on the three municipal elections and the regional election in Uppsala County.

Ideology

The party describes itself as socially liberal and a centrist political force. Ahead of the 2026 elections, the party organized its program under five overarching areas: social initiatives and education, gender equality, welfare, environment and community planning, and culture and civil society.

Reactions

Eva Edwardsson, the Liberal Party's top candidate in Uppsala Municipality, said after the IL launch that she did not see the new party as a threat and that it was positive to have more liberal parties. In an editorial in Bohusläningen, Mimmie Björnsdotter Grönkvist questioned the party's description of a political void in the middle and assessed that a new small liberal party would have limited opportunities for influence.