Sweden chose voluntary measures rather than mandatory "lockdown" restrictions to combat Covid-19. By November 2020 there had been more than 6,000 deaths. In the early phase of the pandemic there was an informal truce between the government and the opposition. Political friction grew with the increased number of deaths. The right-wing populist party the Sweden Democrats (SD) have voiced strong criticism of the Public Health Agency, the government and the nursing homes, particularly for not protecting the elderly. The public support for the SD decreased initially, but is now back to pre-pandemic levels.