Red-green leaders leave Swedish government deadlock unresolved

A meeting of Sweden’s red-green party leaders did not break the deadlock over forming a government, and Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson could lose a parliamentary prime minister vote if one is held next week, SVT political commentator Mats Knutson writes.

The leaders met on Friday at Högberga gård, a meeting venue on Lidingö. Although those who took part said they were satisfied, their positions remained unchanged, Knutson said.

The Centre Party’s opposition to cooperation with the Left Party remains in place, while the Left Party is maintaining its demand for ministerial posts. Knutson describes the conflicting positions as Andersson’s biggest immediate obstacle.

Andersson is due to meet Speaker Andreas Norlén on Monday to report on her assignment to explore government options. Norlén has said he wants to speed up the government-formation process and could set a date for an initial prime minister vote. Based on the leaders’ comments after Friday’s meeting, Andersson currently has little chance of winning one, Knutson writes.

However, he says the meeting may later be seen as the start of a process that leads to a new government. It was also the first time since the election, nearly a month ago, that all the red-green party leaders had met in the same room.

An opinion poll conducted by Indikator Opinion for SVT suggests that voters for both the Centre Party and the Left Party are open to compromise rather than holding an early election. But compromise does not appear imminent. Centre Party representatives have reiterated their objections to the Left Party, citing both its policies and scandals within the party.

Knutson writes that the divisions, which deepened during the election campaign, have grown still deeper since election day.