Andersson tasked with exploring government formation

Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson has been tasked with exploring the conditions for forming a government, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported on Friday.

Andersson said she accepted the assignment with “great humility” and would act constructively.

“All political forces must now put party tactics aside and put Sweden and the Swedish people first,” she said in a statement.

Speaker Andreas Norlén held individual talks with the party leaders on Friday as the first step in forming a new government and selecting a prime minister. The talks began after Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party asked to be relieved of his duties.

After consulting the deputy speakers, Norlén announced that Andersson would begin exploring the conditions for forming a government. He said all party leaders had agreed it was reasonable for Andersson to receive the assignment, despite the current deadlock between the Centre Party and the Left Party.

Andersson said she wanted to lead Sweden in a new spirit of cooperation and seek broad partnerships.

There is no deadline for Andersson to report on her discussions. The newly elected speaker, who will be chosen on September 28, will agree with Andersson on when she should report back.

Centre Party and Left Party maintain opposing positions

Centre Party leader Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist repeated that her party would not join a government with the Left Party. She said the Centre Party had already moved towards being able to join a government with the Social Democrats and the Green Party.

Asked whether the Centre Party could consider organised cooperation with the Left Party, Thand Ringqvist said the issue did not appear to be on the table. She described a centrist alternative as the party’s preferred government.

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar also repeated her party’s position that it would not support a government in which it did not participate. She said it appeared that the Centre Party did not want to sit at the same table, calling that an unreasonable position.

Dadgostar said the Left Party was open to starting government talks without the Centre Party. “If the Centre Party does not want to show up, we have to start somewhere,” she said.

Green Party co-leader Amanda Lind said it was a natural next step for the parties seeking a new direction for Sweden and Andersson as prime minister to sit down and begin constructive talks.

Next steps

The preliminary election result gave 176 seats to the Social Democrats, Left Party, Green Party and Centre Party, compared with 173 seats for the Moderates, Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals.

The final election result is expected to be confirmed over the weekend. The new parliament will meet on September 28 to call its members and elect a speaker. The speaker will agree with Andersson on when she should report on her assignment.

The speaker can propose a prime minister at the earliest on September 29. Parliament will then vote on the candidate. If more than half of its members vote against the candidate, the speaker will begin the process of finding a new nominee.