Until a new government is in place, Sweden is led by a caretaker government. Apart from the fact that it cannot call an extra election, it has the same powers as a regular government.
It can do just about anything, but it doesn’t have a majority in the Riksdag. If the Tidö government continued to pursue its Tidö policy, it wouldn’t get it through, says Jan Teorell, professor of political science at Stockholm University.
The experience of the prolonged government formation process in 2018 - which Teorell analyzed in the book “134 Days” - showed that it did not lead to increased economic uncertainty. Nor was there any clear economic damage during Belgium’s record-long government crisis of more than 500 days in 2010–2011.
Because we are part of the EU and have a highly internationalized economy, many other factors affect it. In addition, we have a very competent government administration that continues to make the decisions that need to be made.
Trust takes a beating - but can heal
However, there is a risk that voters’ trust in politics will deteriorate.
The major damage we saw in 2018 was a decline in voters’ trust in the political system. But that rebounded once they managed to form a government.
However, Teorell warns of what could happen if there is an extra election:
Then we probably can’t expect that healing; the loss of trust will be more permanent.
Solutions are available for urgent issues and the budget
For urgent decisions, there are ways forward through parliamentary committee initiatives. In this case, proposals can be submitted directly to the Riksdag by one of its committees.
If government formation drags on past the budget date in November, Sweden will get a so-called extension budget.
In the short term, it is not so good to have a budget that basically just continues last year’s budget. But once a government takes office, it can present an amending budget.
Nor do decisions concerning the tense security situation need to be a problem, Jan Teorell believes.
In foreign and security policy, we truly live in the Swedish consensus culture. The government is very much anchored in the opposition. In 1982, we had a caretaker government during the submarine hunt in Hårsfjärden, and it was handled without any major problems. The main conclusion is that a caretaker government is not as harmful as one might think in the short term, says Jan Teorell.
A caretaker government mainly handles urgent and routine matters and may not call extra elections.
A caretaker government is limited in that it lacks support in the Riksdag.
As a rule, caretaker governments do not make politically sensitive decisions.
Source: Government Offices.