Center Party rejects Left Party’s call for election cooperation

The leader of Sweden’s Center Party has dismissed an invitation from the Left Party to discuss potential cooperation ahead of the 2026 election, calling it “completely uninteresting,” Swedish public broadcaster SVT reports.

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar had extended the offer in a letter, arguing that a “right-wing nationalist bloc” had formed and that opposition parties should unite. “A lot is at stake now,” Dadgostar said in SVT’s Agenda program, adding that she wanted to “sit down and create a united front.”

Center Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist rejected the proposal outright. “It’s completely uninteresting,” she said, citing deep disagreements on economic policy. She also claimed the Left Party lacks the same ability as the Center Party to collaborate with other parties.

The Left Party’s executive board has ruled out supporting any government in which it does not participate, a stance set to be formalized at its April congress. Earlier this week, Thand Ringqvist told SVT that while the Center Party aims to replace the current Tidö government, it sees “many paths forward without the Left Party in government.”

The exchange follows a shift in Sweden’s political landscape, with the Liberal Party now open to cooperating with the Sweden Democrats if the center-right Tidö parties win the election. The Sweden Democrats and Liberals recently agreed on a policy framework called the “Sweden Pledge.”