Editing Sweden Democrats (section)

=== Rise in national support (2014–2018) ===
In the [[2014 European Parliament election in Sweden|European election of 2014]], SD received 9.67% of votes, winning two seats in the European Parliament and becoming the fifth largest party in the country. The party later joined the [[Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe]] and the [[Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy]] group.

In the [[2014 Swedish general election|2014 election]], the Sweden Democrats received 12.9%{{nbsp}}of the votes, doubling their support and becoming the third-largest party. The party remained big in [[Scania]] and [[Blekinge]]; for example in [[Malmö]] the party received 14% of the votes, in [[Landskrona]] it received 19% of the votes and in [[Sjöbo]] a total of 30% rendering the party the largest in that municipality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/kommun/12/65/index.html|title=Valresultat Riksdag Sjöbo kommun 2014|publisher=Valmyndigheten|language=sv|access-date=28 July 2017|archive-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728013821/http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/kommun/12/65/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Other parties, however, remained firm in their decision to isolate them from exerting influence. Out of 29 constituencies electing parliamentarians, the party was the second largest in "Scania North & East" while being the third largest party in 25.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html|title=Valresultat Rike Riksdag 2014|publisher=Valmyndigheten|language=sv|access-date=28 July 2017|archive-date=15 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215015643/http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Although relying heavily on rural areas and the deep south, the party also made strong inroads and results above 15% in some medium-sized central Sweden cities such as [[Norrköping]], [[Eskilstuna]] and [[Gävle]], indicating a widening of its voter base in all areas.

Some time after that, Åkesson announced he would go on sick leave due to [[Occupational burnout|burnout]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sverigedemokraterna.se/oppet-brev-fran-jimmie-akesson/|title=Jimmie Åkesson sjukskriven|work=Sverigedemokraterna|date=17 October 2014 |access-date=24 February 2015|archive-date=11 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511171757/https://sverigedemokraterna.se/oppet-brev-fran-jimmie-akesson/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/akesson-sjukskriven-pa-obestamd-tid/|title=Åkesson sjukskriven på obestämd tid|work=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=17 October 2014|access-date=24 February 2015|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623182107/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/akesson-sjukskriven-pa-obestamd-tid/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mattias Karlsson (politician)|Mattias Karlsson]] was appointed to temporarily take over Åkesson's duties as party leader.

On 23 March 2015, it was announced that Åkesson would return from his leave of absence to resume his duties as party leader following an interview to be broadcast on the Friday, 27 March instalment of the ''[[Skavlan]]'' program on [[Sveriges Television|SVT]], and a subsequent press conference with the Swedish media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://samtiden.nu/12972/jimmie-akesson-kommer-tillbaka|title=Jimmie Åkesson kommer tillbaka|work=Samtiden|access-date=20 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622151222/http://samtiden.nu/12972/jimmie-akesson-kommer-tillbaka/|archive-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1637&artikel=6123741|title=Uppgifter: Åkesson gör comeback|newspaper=Sveriges Radio|date=23 March 2015|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=1 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201132450/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1637&artikel=6123741|url-status=live}}</ref>

Amid media coverage regarding the high immigration figures and the [[2015 European migrant crisis|European migrant crisis]], the Sweden Democrats soared in all [[2018 Swedish general election#Opinion polls|opinion polls]] during the summer of 2015, even topping web-based polls from [[YouGov]] and Sentio in late summer, with a little over a quarter of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://yougov.se/news/2015/08/20/sd-ar-sveriges-storsta-parti/|title=SD är Sveriges största parti|language=sv|publisher=YouGov|date=20 August 2015|access-date=10 September 2015|archive-date=4 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004153557/https://yougov.se/news/2015/08/20/sd-ar-sveriges-storsta-parti/|url-status=live}}</ref> The party also saw rising support in phone-based polls, although the swing was lower.