Abstract The year 2022 in Swedish politics was historic for several reasons. Following the war between Russia and Ukraine, Sweden broke with its long tradition of non-alignment and submitted an application for membership of NATO. After a closely fought election, a right-of-centre minority coalition took office, depending on support from the previously isolated Sweden Democrats. At least initially, the change of government seemed to signify a change to more stability, after several turbulent years since 2014. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic more or less disappeared, but the new government faced several other challenges, including rising energy prices and growing inflationary pressure. The Liberals changed leader. A constitutional amendment was adopted which, according to critics, would make investigative journalism more difficult.