[27] In response to these alleged relations, SD threatened to expel several leading members of SDU unless the league moderated itself.

In early 2017, Sveriges Radio reported that SDU members had filed a party registration application to the election authority.

[30] Two Sweden Democrat members of the Riksdag, Olle Felten and Jeff Ahl, defected to the party later that month.

[31] According to the rules of the Riksdag, Felten and Ahl are considered independent MP's, meaning that Alternative for Sweden is not officially represented in the parliament.

[32] Mikael Jansson, former leader of the Sweden Democrats, also defected on 9 April, citing the mother party's recent lack of resistance to NATO as his main reason.

However, the party failed to enter parliament by a large margin, receiving just 0.31 out of the 4.0 percent needed to get past the election threshold.

Accused of using bots to manipulate the algorithm and inflate the party's perceived popularity, actions were taken by Facebook to limit certain activities of AfS accounts just before the election.

[44] Alternative for Sweden has stated in its program that the party wants to shift from progressive to a flat income tax and uniform VAT with a fixed rate.

[37] AfS wishes to make the country self-sufficient and end the use of fossil fuels, citing both environmental protection and national security reasons.

[37] The party seeks to rearm the military and form a Nordic defense alliance, instead of making Sweden dependent on NATO.

[45] That same year, Mikael Jansson met with close contacts to president Bashar al-Assad during a visit to Syria.