Sweden’s Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson has failed to form a government following the country’s recent general election.
STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s Social Democratic party leader Magdalena Andersson said Tuesday she had failed to form a government with the three other parties in the left-wing bloc following last month’s election.
“My overall assessment is that progress has been made, but at the same time, the conditions are currently not in place to form a government that can be tolerated by the parliament,” Andersson told a press conference.
She spoke after reporting back to parliament speaker Andreas Norlen, who must now decide whether parliament should still be asked to vote on whether to make Andersson prime minister.
“I have informed the speaker that I am ready for a prime ministerial vote,” Andersson said, while noting that she would likely fail such a vote.
Sweden’s centre-left opposition bloc won 176 seats in parliament, versus 173 for outgoing Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing bloc, which includes the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, in the September 13 election.
In Andersson’s bloc, the Centre Party has said it will oppose a government that includes cabinet posts for the Left Party, which has in turn insisted it will only support a left-wing government of which it is a member.
Under the Swedish system, a prime minister must be endorsed by parliament — meaning one can secure office so long as a majority does not vote against them.
Norlen first tasked Andersson with starting government talks on September 18, but she gave up on September 28, after failing to unite the three other parties in her group due to deep ideological differences.
With no apparent changes in the parties’ positions, Andersson was tasked with trying again.
After Andersson’s attempt, Norlen is expected to assign the task to Kristersson, who currently leads a caretaker government.
He would need to convince an opposition party to support him or at least not vote against him.
The speaker of parliament has four attempts at proposing a prime minister for parliament to vote on. If the fourth attempt fails, a snap election must be called.