Andersson urges Center Party to make concessions in government talks

Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson says the Center Party needs to make concessions to help resolve Sweden’s 58-day wait for a new government, she told SVT’s Morgonstudion on Tuesday.

Andersson said on Sunday that she wants to govern with the Center Party and the Green Party, with the Left Party providing support. She also urged the Left Party to reconsider its demand to join the government, saying the proposal was the best way to move the process forward.

Andersson declined to say whether the Left Party had shown willingness in talks among the four parties to negotiate on all issues, including its demand for ministerial posts. But she said the Center Party needed to put forward proposals that could persuade the Left Party the arrangement was a good solution.

She said the plan would give the Center Party a chance to uphold both its “red lines” and its promises to voters, while allowing the Left Party to influence Swedish politics.

The Center Party has also opened dialogue with the right and asked Andersson and Moderate Party leader Ulf Kristersson to present their respective overall plans for governing Sweden by Friday. Andersson said choosing that path would be “the greatest betrayal in Swedish politics.”

Asked how great a failure it would be if a government she did not lead took office, Andersson replied that the issue was not about her, but about people in Sweden who wanted a new direction.