Illiberal

What really happened

• On election night, 13 September 2026, Messiah Hallberg, host of SVT's satire show "Svenska nyheter", turned up behind the reporter in SVT's live broadcast from the Liberals' election party and was asked about the result: "Jag tror att Liberalerna ska vara glada att de har lockat någon att gå och rösta det här året över huvud taget." ("I think the Liberals should be happy they got anyone to go and vote at all this year.")
• The Liberals got 5.34 percent in the final count, over the 4 percent threshold to the Riksdag.
• On Instagram he posted a screenshot of the interview with the caption "Sekunderna innan Liberalernas presstjänst slängde ut oss" ("Seconds before the Liberals' press office threw us out"). To Aftonbladet he said: "Efter det hade de plötsligt en mer illiberal inställning till oss." ("After that they suddenly had a more illiberal attitude to us.")
• That is his account. Rebecka Kvart, press chief to Liberal leader Simona Mohamsson, told Expressen that more than 165 journalists and photographers were accredited, so the party allowed one journalist and one photographer per newsroom, and that "Messiah blev inte alls utslängd men ombedd att alternera med sina kolleger på SVT" ("Messiah was not thrown out at all, but asked to alternate with his colleagues at SVT").
• Fikapodden, its hosts and the studio are ours. So are the buns, Robbe taking them back, and Majken's "Free speech. One at a time." Messiah says only his own words.

Sources

• Nyheter24: Messiah Hallberg kastades ut från Liberalernas valvaka (the on-air quote and his Aftonbladet line)
• Expressen: Messiah Hallberg blev utkastad, and the Liberals' reply (14 Sep 2026)
• SVT Kulturnyheterna: why Messiah Hallberg was at the Liberals' election party
• SVT: Valresultat 2026, final count (Liberalerna 5.34 percent)