The speaker of the Swedish parliament, Andreas Norlén, has announced a fresh round of formal consultations to address the persistent deadlock surrounding the formation of a new government. This move follows the decision by Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson to abandon her initial attempt to establish a centre-left administration.
Known in Sweden as a talmansrunda, these consultations are scheduled to take place on Wednesday. During this process, Norlén will meet with various party leaders before granting a new exploratory mandate to a specific leader, tasking them with the responsibility of forming a government. Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson is considered a potential candidate for this mandate.
While Norlén has not established a specific deadline for the successful formation of a government, he expressed a clear desire to avoid a repeat of the lengthy 2018 process. During that cycle, the formation of a government spanned 134 days. Norlén, who oversaw the 2018 negotiations as well, noted, "My ambition is that we don't spend 134 days on it this time."
The Swedish political landscape remains deeply divided. For a centre-left government to succeed, either the Left Party must retract its demand for cabinet representation, or the Centre Party and the Social Democrats must reach an agreement to permit Left Party ministers. Should Ulf Kristersson receive the next mandate, he faces his own set of significant challenges. A centre-right coalition would require the Centre Party to switch sides, an action they have consistently refused as long as the far-right Sweden Democrats remain part of Kristersson's support base. Furthermore, Sweden Democrat leader Jimmie Åkesson has stated, "We will not accept any government that we are not part of ourselves," complicating any potential Moderate-led administration.
Under the Swedish constitution, the speaker is granted four attempts to propose a prime ministerial candidate to parliament. If all four proposals are rejected by the legislature, the country must hold a snap election. Addressing the possibility of such an outcome, Norlén acknowledged the risk but emphasized that the process is still in its early stages, stating, "Naturally, the risk is there. But we haven't held a single vote on a prime minister yet, and I still have four attempts."
